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CENTRAL  AFRICA. 
ADVENTURES 

AND 

MISSIONARY  LABORS 

IN  SEVERAL  COUNTRIES  IN  THE 

INTERIOR  OF  AFRICA, 

FROM 

1849  to  1856. 
BY  T.  J.  BOWEN. 

SEVENTH  THOUSAND. 

CHARLESTON  : 
SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
No.  2  2  9  KING  STREET. 

1857. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857, 
33n  the  <3ciutfjent  33ap  tst  |BufiIf  cotton  .Sortctu, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  South- Carolina. 


PREFACE. 


In  some  respects,  our  anticipations  in  regard  to  Central  Africa 
have  been  more  than  realized.  So  far  as  we  have  proceeded,  we 
have  found  a  good  and  pleasant  country,  and  a  remarkably  kind 
people,  who  are  desirous  of  being  instructed.  Even  in  those  places 
where  they  at  first  suspected  our  motives,  they  have  generally  given 
us  a  cordial  reception,  so  soon  as  they  ascertained  that  our  ouly 
design  is  to  teach  them  a  better  religion  than  their  hereditary 
idolatry.  The  design  of  the  following  pages  is  to  give  some  addi- 
tional information  in  regard  to  countries  but  little  known,  and  to 
call  the  attention  of  Christians  to  a  people,  who,  it  seems,  are  ready 
to  receive  the  Gospel. 

The  recipes  in  the  fourth  chapter  are  intended  chiefly  for 
colonists  and  missionaries,  to  whom  they  will  be  of  sufficient  value 
to  warrant  their  insertion. 

On  several  points,  the  information  is  smaller  than  I  desired,  but 
it  was  thought  best  to  limit  the  work  to  its  present  size,  even  at 
the  expense  of  facts  which  are  worth  relating.  The  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people,  and  the  pleasing  incidents  which  are  con- 
stantly occurring  in  the  missionary  work,  are  frequently  detailed  in 
the  monthly  letters  of  the  missionaries,  which  are  generally  pub- 
lished in  our  periodicals.    I  had  intended  to  have  given  a  list  of 

[3] 


iv 


PREFACE. 


the  genera  of  plants,  so  far  as  known,  which  are  common  to  Tropical 
Africa  and  the  United  States,  many  of  which  are  not  found  in 
Hooker's  Niger  Flora ;  but  this  would  be  of  little  interest  to  the 
general  reader. 

Some  of  the  etymologies  given  in  the  twenty-second  chapter, 
and  elsewhere,  will  appear  obscure  or  clear  in  proportion  as  they 
are  referred  with  more  or  less  care  to  the  known  methods  by  which 
words  pass  from  one  language  into  another.  The  language,  tradi- 
tions and  religion  of  the  Yoruba  people,  are  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  merit  a  more  extended  investigation  than  would  be  proper 
in  a  popular  work. 

If  some  judicious  Christians  dissent  from  the  Author's  views  as 
to  the  importance  of  civilization  and  commerce  to  the  missionary 
work,  I  trust  that  no  one  will  have  occasion  to  say  that  the  spirit 
in  which  we  are  laboring  in  Africa,  is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the 
Gospel.  We  do  not  believe  that  natural  causes  can  sanctify  the 
heart,  although  we  hold  that  civilization  is  essential  to  the  perman- 
ence of  the  Gospel  among  any  people.  The  best  method  of  con- 
ducting missions  is  yet  a  question ;  and  I  confess  that  I  have  been 
mindful  of  that  fact  while  penning  the  following  pages. 

Chakleston,  S.  0.,  February  1, 1857. 


NOTE. 


The  letters  employed  in  spelling  African  names  and  words  in  this 
work,  have  the  same  sounds  as  in  English,  with  the  following  ex- 
ceptions : 

g  is  always  hard,  as  in  get, 

n  final,  in  Yoruba  words,  is  a  nasal  much  slighter  in  sound 
than  ng. 

s  is  never  sounded  like  z, 

z  in  Puloh  words,  has  the  sound  of  z  in  azure. 

a  has  two  sounds,  as  in  far  and  in  fat ;  never  as  in  fate. 

e  has  two  sounds,  as  in  prey  and  in  met ;  never  as  in  me. 

i  has  two  sounds,  as  in  machine  and  in  pin  ;  never  as  in  pine. 

w  long  has  they  sound  of  oo  in  too  ;  never  of  u  in  mute. 

ai  have  the  sound  of  i  in  pine, 

au  have  the  sound  of  ow  in  now. 
In  a  few  proper  names,  ee,  oo,  and  final  y,  are  sounded  as  in 
English. 

Occasionally  the  parallel  lines  =  are  used  as  a  substitute  for 
"  equal  to,"  or  "  equivalent  to." 

Cf  a  contraction  of  conferre,  means  " refer  to,"  or  "compare." 

[5] 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  BRIEF  REVIEW  OF  AFRICAN  EXPLORATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

Tropical  Africa  known  to  the  ancients  —  Introduction  of  the 
camel  —  The  Carthagenians  —  The  Psylii  —  The  Egyptians  — 
the  Komans  —  The  Saracens  —  Present  population  of  Sudan  — 
Ancient  voyages  —  Portuguese  discoveries  —  The  slave  trade  — 
Modern  travelers  —  Missions  —  Native  Christians  in  Central 
Africa  —  Portuguese  Missions  in  Congo  —  Moravian  Mission- 
aries —  Missions  in  Sierra  Leone  —  Liberia  —  Western  Africa 
—  Central  Africa.  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

MONROVIA  AND  THE  LICERIANS. 

Detention  in  Liberia  —  The  rainy  season  —  Tropical  vegetation  — 
The  surf —  Harbors  —  Monrovia  —  Condition  of  the  people  — 
Treatment  of  natives  —  Influence  of  the  colony  —  Civilization 
increasing  —  Statistics  (in  a  foot  note)  —  Dissatisfaction  of  im- 
migrants. -  27 

CHAPTER  III. 

NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 

Kroomen  —  Origin  of  the  tribe  —  Polygamy  —  Condition  of  women 
in  Guinea  —  Barbarism  —  Religion  —  Oaths  —  Recent  improve- 
ment of  the  Kroos  —  The  Golahs  —  Vies  —  Deys  — Then- 
houses,  dress,  food,  etc.  —  Mandingoes  —  Their  Schools  —  Re- 
ligion—  Traffic.  -      -      -  37 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SOIL,  FARMS,  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA. 

Rocks  of  Liberia  —  Soil  —  Swamp  —  Farms  —  Rice  —  Indian 
corn  —  Millet  —  Beans  —  Arrow  root  —  Yams  —  Cassava  — 
Tania  —  Sweet  potatoes  —  Onions  —  Fruits  —  Sugar  cane  — 
Coffee  —  Ginger  —  Pepper  —  Cotton  —  India  rubber  —  Ground 

[7] 


viii 


CONTENTS. 


peas  — Telfaria  —  Castor  oil  —  Lamp  oils  —  The  oil  palm  —  The 
butter  tree.  44 

CHAPTER  V. 

FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 

Colonization  opposed  —  Its  aims  —  Future  emigration  of  Amer- 
ican blacks  —  The  natives  will  be  civilized  —  Improvability  of 
man  —  Origin  and  progress  of  civilization  —  The  present  con- 
dition of  Africa.  -  56 

CHAPTER  VI. 

TRAVELS  IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  THE  GOLAHS,  IN  1850. 

Departure  to  Golah  —  African  singing  —  A  mangrove  swamp  — 
New  Georgia  —  St.  Paul's  river  —  Navigation  —  The  bush  — 
Roads  —  Pine  apples  —  African  water  —  Naked  Negroes  — 
Vonzwaw —  Streets  —  Palaver  house  —  Hindrances  —  Preach- 
ing —  Traffic  —  Currency  —  Salt  —  Gaming  —  An  affray  —  Mu- 
sic —  A  "  half  town"  —  Small  pox  — .Villages  —  Soil  —  Suwy 

—  Mill  seats  —  War  —  Forests  —  Wild  animals  —  A  tribal  bu- 
rying ground  —  A  fine  country  —  Gebby  —  An  affray  —  Taz- 
zua  —  Sama  —  A  covetous  king  —  Mr.  Goodale's  death  —  The 
people  of  Sama  —  Godiri  —  Boonda  • —  Mandingo  —  Mahomet- 
ans —  A  law  suit  —  Return  to  Monrovia.         -      -       -       -  67 

CHAPTER  VII. 

VOYAGE  FROM  MONROVIA  TO  BADAGRY,  IN  1850. 

Parable  of  the  sower  —  Departure  from  Monrovia  —  Foolish 
Kroomen  —  El  Mina  —  The  Fantees  —  Rise  of  the  coast  — 
Gold  —  Nudity  —  Immodesty  —  Causes  of  African  degradation 

—  Queer  marriages  —  Mulattoes  —  Curious  weights  —  Costume 

—  A  funeral  —  Cape  Coast  Castle  —  The  landing  —  Wesleyan 
Missions  —  "  L.  E.  L."  Js  grave  —  Guinea  worm  —  African  hills 
— Hocks  —  Rise  of  the  coast  —  Departure  for  Badagry  —  What 
Negroes  need  masters  —  Akra  gardens  —  Negro  vanity  —  Aguey 

—  Badagry.  83 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 

The  people  of  Badagry  —  The  Slave  Coast  —  New  "  niggers" — 
Fida  —  The  language  —  Slave  trade  —  Soil  —  Climate  —  Relig- 


CONTENTS. 


ix 


ions  ceremony  —  Witches  —  Markets  —  Currency  —  Cowries 

—  Beggars  —  Old  Simeon  —  A  servant  and  a  horse  —  Departure 
from  Badagry  —  Burial  in  the  air  —  How  loads  are  carried  — 
Prairies  —  A  lagoon  —  A  caravan  —  The  country  —  Soil  — 
Scenery  —  Countries  on  the  Slave  Coast  —  Eighteen  months' 
detention.  93 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 

Abbeokuta  —  Ogun  river  —  Rocks  —  Soil  —  Egba  Country  des- 
olated by  war  —  Ancient  giants  —  Wars  —  Dahomies  defeated 

—  Missionaries  invited  to  Egba.  —  Success  —  Translations  — 
Hand  of  Providence.  105 

CHAPTER  X. 

BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 

Evils  of  the  slave  trade  —  Opposition  of  natives  to  slave  wars  — 
The  Dahomy  army  —  Battle  at  Abbeokuta  —  Badagry  burnt  — 
Lagos  taken  by  the  English.  113 

CHAPTER  XI. 

AN  ATTEMPT  TO  PASS  THROUGH  IKETU,  IN  1850. 

Departure  from  Abbeokuta  —  Ibara  — Aibo  — An  Albino  —  Preach- 
ing —  Strictures  on  —  Superstitious  fears  of  white  men  —  A 
fine  country  —  Roadside  market  —  Yeriwa  river  —  Villages  — 
Ijale  —  Return  to  Abbeokuta  —  Robbers.        -  125 

CHAPTER  XII. 

INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUTA,  IN  1851. 

The  Yoruba  language  —  A  Puloh  man  —  Egba  country  —  Human 
sacrifices  —  Oko  -  Obba  —  Immodesty  —  The  idol  Ifa  —  Visits 
to  the  farms  —  Slaves  —  Tobacco  —  Oro  day  —  Devil  bush.    -  132 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

VISIT  TO  IKETU,  IN  1851. 

Departure  for  Iketu  —  Dahomy  refugees  —  A  poor  country  — 
Villages  —  The  "  king's  father"  —  Soil  —  Manners  and  customs 


X 


CONTENTS. 


—  Difficulties  —  Deposing  of  Megs — Preaching  —  Mahomet- 
ans rebuked  —  Slave  market  —  A  female  captive  —  "  Send  me 
your  head  !  " — Amazons — Departure  from  Iketu.     -  142 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

VISIT  TO  BI-OLOREUN-PELLU,  IN  FEBRUARY,  1852. 

Messengers  sent  to  Isehin  —  Invited  into  Yoruba  —  Opposition  — 
Aberrekodo  — Eruwa —  Scenery  —  Bi-olorrun  pellu  —  Whites 
in  Africa  —  A  chief's  Bible  —  Effects  of  preaching  —  Heathens 
without  idols  —  Iravvaw  —  Traffic  —  Candid  Mahometans  —  In- 
vited to  Awyaw  —  Farms  —  Animals  —  Hunting  —  The  unicorn.  15 1 

CHAPTER  XV. 

VISIT  TO  AW  A  YE,  OKE-EFO  AND  IJAYE,  IN  1852. 

Departure  for  Ishakki  —  Awaye  —  Oke-Efo  —  Return  to  Awaye  — 
A  prince  banished  —  Visit  to  Ijaye  —  Land  given  for  a  Mission 

—  Return  to  the  coast  —  Embark  for  London.        -      -  -167 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

BEGINNING  OF  THE  YORUBA  MISSION. 

Return  to  Africa  —  Sickness  —  War  —  Death  of  Missionaries  - 
Station  at  Ijaye  —  Erecting  houses  —  Baptisms  —  Arrival  of 
Mr.  Clark  —  Preaching  —  Exploring  tour  —  Removal  to  Ogbo- 
moshaw.  -      -      -J  79 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

VISITS  TO  ILORRIN  IN  1855. 

Departure  for  Ilorrin  —  Opposition  —  The  country  —  A  village 
priest  —  Reception  at  Ilorrin  —  Conferences  —  Arabs  —  Large 
towns  —  Dasaba  the  Cruel  —  Past  events  at  Ilorrin  —  The 
Pulohs  —  Men  with  tails  —  A  second  visit  to  Ilorrin  —  New 
Missionaries  —  Distances  from  Lagos.  188 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  JOURNEY  FROM  YORUBA  TO  SIERRA  LEONE,  IN  1856. 

Departure  from  Ogbomoshaw —  Heathen  notions  of  Providence  — 
A  canoe  voyage  —  Improvements  at  Lagos  —  Monrovia  —  Si- 


CONTENTS. 


xi 


erra  Leone  —  baptist  churches  there  —  Missionaries  needed  — 

A  school  of  Native  Boys  —  Successful  mission.         -      -  206 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 

Boundaries  —  Population  —  Towns  —  Surface  —  Mountains  — 
Prairies  —  Soil  —  Streams  —  Swamps  —  Springs  —  Water.  -  217 

CHAPTER  XX. 

SEASONS  AND  CLIMATE. 

Rainy  season  —  Dry  season  —  Spring  —  Temperature  —  Winds  — 
The  harmattan  —  Clouds  —  Mornings  and  evenings  —  The  best 
time  to  travel  —  Diseases  of  the  natives  —  Diseases  of  white  vis- 
itors —  Fever  —  Dysentery  —  Debility  —  Causes  of  disease  — 
Heat  —  Dampness  —  Malaria  —  How  to  preserve  health  —  Tak- 
ing cold  —  Clothing  —  Houses  —  Bathing  —  Damp  beds  —  Laws 
of  Malaria  —  Diet  —  Medicines.  226 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

GEOLOGY,  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  OF  YOItUBA. 

Rocks  on  the  coast  —  Organic  remains  —  Drift  —  Rocks  in  .the 
interior  —  Granite  —  Ancient  sea  coast  —  Vegetation  —  Trees 
—  Timber  —  The  Upas  —  Poisons  —  Drugs  —  Climbers  — 
Flowers  —  Weeds  of  cultivation  —  Fruits  —  Beasts  —  Birds  — 
Reptiles  — Ants.  252 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS. 

Origin  of  the  name  of  Yoruba —  Men  created  at  Ifeh  —  Sixteen 
Emigrants  from  the  east  —  Drying  up  of  the  waters  —  Yorubas 
once  lived  in  Nufe  —  Six  Yoruba  tribes  —  Descended  from 
Nimrod  —  White  Immigrants  to  Sudan  —  Affinities  of  the 
Yoruba  tongue  —  List  of  Yoruba  and  Puloh  words.  -      -  -264 

CPIAPTER  XXIII. 

PHYSICAL,  INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 
SUDANESE. 

Typical  Negroes  —  Mulattoes  —  Original  seats  of  the  Negroes  — 
Their  Migrations  in  Sudan  —  White  Immigrants  to  Africa  — 


xii 


CONTENTS. 


Effects  of  Climate  —  Permanence  of  Mulatto  races  —  Black 
men  with  European  features  —  Activity  of  Negroes  —  Intellect 

—  Language  —  Laws  —  Religion  —  Common  sense  —  Inventive 
faculty  —  Science  —  Music  —  Letters  —  Poetry  —  Kindness  — 
Industry —  Commerce  needed  —  Immodesty  —  Covetousuess  — 
Proverbs.  276 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  TORUBA. 

Towns  —  Walls  —  Streets  —  Markets  —  Houses  —  Dress  —  Food 
Amusements  —  Dancing  —  Religious  Processions  —  Salutations 

—  Marriage  —  Polygamy  —  Divorce  —  Inheritance  —  Widows 

—  Children  —  Burial  —  Ghosts  —  Occupations  of  the  people  — 
Farming  —  Traffic  —  Arts  —  Tools  —  Glass  manufacture.        -  294 

•    CHAPTER  XXV. 

RELIGION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

Monotheism  —  Idolatry  —  Mediators —  Symbols  —  Sacrifices  — 
Priests  —  Three  principal  Idols  —  Obatalla  —  Shango —  Ifa  — 
Government  — War  —  Captives.  310 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ON  THE  MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 

Savages  may  be  converted  —  They  can  not  sustain  the  Gospel  — 
They  must  be  civilized  —  The  Divine  method  of  dealing  with 
man  —  The  former  state  of  Africa  —  Its  present  state  —  What 
type  of  civilization  suits  it  —  The  duty  of  Missionaries  —  Im- 
portance of  commerce  —  Commercial  resources  of  Central 
Africa  —  Industry  of  the  people  —  Navigation  of  the  Niger.  321 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 

The  great  commission  —  Our  Missions  to  Central  Africa  —  Men 
needed  —  Who  should  go  —  Our  proposed  line  of  stations  — 
A  wagon  road  to  be  opened  —  Love  to  the  souls  of  men,  a  mo- 
tive —  The  heathens  not  saved  —  The  appointed  time  for  the 
conversion  of  Africa  —  A  wide  field  of  labor  —  Liberality  of 
the  churches,   **********  346 


CENTRAL  AFRICAN  MISSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  BRIEF  REVIEW  OF  AFRICAN  EXPLORATION  AND  MISSIONS. 

TROPICAL  AFRICA  KNOWN  TO  THE  ANCIENTS  —  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE 
CAMEL  —  THE  CARTHAGENIANS  —  THE  PSYLLI  —  THE  EGYPTIANS  —  THE 
ROMANS  —  THE  SARACENS  —  PRESENT  POPULATION  OF  SUDAN  —  ANCIENT 
VOYAGES  —  PORTUGUESE   DISCOVERIES  —  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  —  MODERN 

TRAVELERS  —  MISSIONS  —  NATIVE  CHRISTIANS    IN    CENTRAL  AFRICA  

PORTUGUESE  MISSIONS  IN  CONGO  —  MORAVIAN  MISSIONARIES  —  MISSIONS 
IN  SIERRA  LEONE  —  LIBERIA —  WESTERN  AFRICA — CENTRAL  AFRICA. 

No  quarter  of  the  globe  is  so  imperfectly  known  as 
Africa.  Cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  by  deserts  and 
oceans,  given  up  to  the  occupancy  of  barbarous  races, 
and  defended  by  a  climate  more  terrible  than  armies, 
she  has  generally  repelled  or  destroyed  alike  the  covet- 
ous, the  curious,  and  the  benevolent  intruder.  Or  if  at 
any  time  the  adventurer  has  been  more  successful,  if  he 
has  made  extensive  explorations,  and  accurate  obser- 
vations, his  information,  for  the  most  part,  as  if  by  some 
fatality,  has  not  been  permitted  to  reach  us.  We  have 
good  reasons  for  believing  that  some  of  the  ancients,  as 

[13] 


14 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


also  the  Portuguese  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies, were  better  acquainted  with  Africa  than  we  are 
at  present. 

It  is  not  easy  to  believe,  that  the  camel  was  first 
introduced  upon  the  wastes  of  Sahara  by  the  Saracens. 
The  name  by  which  it  is  known  to  several  nations  of 
Sudan,  is  not  derived  from  the  Arabic.  I  believe  that 
the  Pulohs  (Fellatahs)  are  the  hybrid  descendants  of  a 
white  race,  who  crossed  the  desert  from  Northern  Africa, 
(which  they  would  hardly  have  done  without  camels,) 
many  ages  before  the  days  of  Mahomet.  The  exclusive 
policy  of  the  Carthagenians,  which  led  them  to  conceal 
their  knowledge  of  distant  countries,  and  the  subsequent 
destruction  of  any  records  which  they  might  have  kept, 
may  prevent  us  forever  from  ascertaining  how  far  they 
were  acquainted  with  the  great  desert  and  the  regions 
beyond  it.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  they,  like  the 
Egyptians,  were  aware  of  the  fact,  that  the  desert  is 
interspersed  with  green  oases  or  fertile  spots,  and  that 
they  were  in  possession  of  camels,  or  some  other  means 
by  which  they  could  reach  these  Elysian  fields,  so  grate- 
ful to  thirsty  and  weary  travelers.  The  story  that  the 
interior  of  Africa  was  too  hot  to  be  inhabited,  may  have 
been  a  Carthagenian  fiction,  invented  to  deceive  the 
people  of  Europe,  who  knew  merely  enough  of  the  desert 
to  make  the  report  seem  credible.  Fezzan  must  have 
been  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  Northern  Africa  ;  and 
it  would  be  very  strange  if  the  people  of  Fezzan  should 
be  unacquainted  with  the  line  of  oases  which  stretch  at 
easy  distances  southward  to  Sudan,  It  is  said  that  an 
ancient  tribe,  the  Psylli,  (or  Psulloi,*)  once  attempted 


*  Perhaps  the  modern  Puloh. 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


15 


to  migrate  across  the  desert  to  the  south ;  but  that  ad- 
vancing into  boundless  plains  of  glowing  sand,  they  all 
perished  of  thirst.  It  is  very  improbable  that  the  Psylli, 
who  had  long  occupied  the  northern  borders  of  the 
desert,  would  attempt  to  cross  it  without  being  con- 
vinced that  the  journey  was  practicable  ;  and  since  they 
passed  through  Fezzan,  by  a  route  which  is  not  intoler- 
able even  to  men  and  women  on  foot,  it  is  very  probable 
that  they  did  not  perish  in  the  desert,  but  reached  their 
destination  in  safety.  Great  as  the  horrors  of  the  desert 
may  be,  they  have  always  been  overrated.  There  are 
not  now,  and  never  have  been,  billows  or  mountains  of 
moving  sand,  to  overwhelm  armies  and  caravans.  To 
satisfy  himself  on  this  point,  the  reader  has  only  to 
examine  the  accounts  of  modern  travelers.  At  present, 
there  is  an  active  trade  going  on  between  the  Barbary 
States  and  Sudan  ;  and  if  such  a  trade  existed  in  ancient 
times,  we  can  easily  account  for  any  extravagant  stories 
about  the  dangers  of  the  desert,  which  may  have  been 
circulated  by  the  people  of  Northern  Africa. 

Egypt,  too,  must  have  been  acquainted  with  Central 
Africa.  This  is  attested  by  the  ancient  monuments,  and 
no  less  strongly  by  the  Egyptian  arts  and  institutions 
which  still  flourish  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger.  The  pe- 
culiar beads  or  bugles  which  are  found  on  the  Egyptian 
mummies,  are  also  dug  from  the  earth  in  the  Juku 
country,  north  of  the  Benue  or  Chadda,  and  again  at 
Ifeh  in  Yoruba.  These  are  the  so-called  Popoe  beads, 
which  formerly  sold  for  their  weight  in  gold. 

After  the  fall  of  Carthage,  the  Romans  a  so  became 
acquainted  with  the  countries  beyond  the  Sahara.  Den- 
ham  and  Clapperton  found  Roman  remains  in  the  midst 


1G 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


of  the  desert.  A  Roman  army  is  affirmed  to  have  pene- 
trated far  into  Sudan.  There  are  several  Latin  words 
in  the  Puloh  language,  as  for  instance,  lolo,  to  bathe. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Northern  Africa,  if  not  the  learned  men  of 
Southern  Europe,  were  as  well  acquainted  with  Sudan, 
in  ancient  times,  as  we  are  at  present.  By  whom  the 
routes  across  the  desert  were  first  discovered,  and  what 
curious  or  mercantile  adventurers  penetrated  into  the 
country  of  the  blacks,  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  But 
enough  is  known  to  authorize  the  inference  of  much  more 
having  been  known  than  is  ordinarily  supposed. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Saracens  in  Northern  Africa, 
they  probably  found  the  routes  to  Sudan  as  well  known 
to  the  Mauri  or  Moors,  as  they  are  at  present.  In  the 
tenth  century,  these  hordes,  like  swarms  of  locusts,  which 
had  spread  desolation  in  many  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia, 
directed  their  course  southward,  and  came  down  upon 
the  fertile  table  lands  of  Central  Africa.  Meeting  the 
Pulohs  and  other  mulatto  tribes  on  the  upper  Niger,  they 
conquered  or  dispersed  them.  Hausa,  Kanike  (Burnu), 
and  several  adjacent  countries,  submitted  to  the  religion 
and  laws  of  the  invaders,  who  established  a  number  of 
kingdoms,  as  Kuku  or  Burnu,  Wangara,  Tokrur  or  So- 
koto,  and  Ghana  or  Ghinea  (Kano),  a  name  which  a 
mistake  of  Europeans  has  transferred  to  the  western 
coast.  These  kingdoms,  though  highly  celebrated  by 
Arabian  writers  of  that  age,  were  of  short  continuance. 
Amalgamation,  aided  by  polygamy,  concubinage,  and 
still  grosser  licentiousness,  conquered  the  conquerors  of 
Sudan.  The  hybrid  offspring  of  the  Arabs,  surrounded 
by  millions  of  negroes,  grew  up  in  the  language,  feel- 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


17 


ings,  and  habits  of  the  natives,  with  the  exception  of 
idolatry  ;  and  the  famous  Saracen  kingdoms  of  Sudan 
quietly  retrograded  into  semi-barbarous  African  tribes. 
The  effects  of  the  invasion,  however,  are  still  conspicu- 
ous. Most  of  the  people  are  Mahometans  ;  a  knowledge 
of  the  written  Arabic  is  extensively  diffused  ;  and  there 
is  an  extensive  mixture  of  Shemitic  blood  in  the  con- 
quered tribes.  Several  Arabic  writers  of  the  Saracen 
period  have  left  accounts  of  Sudan,  which  may  be  seen 
in  the  Appendix  to  Murray's  Africa.  After  all,  the  whole 
amount  of  our  information  put  together,  is  ve*ry  small. 

Jt  was  not  only  by  crossing  the  great  desert,  that  Eu- 
ropeans and  Asiatics  attempted  to  explore  the  wonders 
of  the  vast  and  ever  mysterious  African  continent.  At 
an  early  date,  ships  were  sent  to  explore  both  the  east- 
ern and  western  coasts,  and  even  to  circumnavigate  the 
peninsula.  It  is  recorded  that  Necho,  a  king  of  Egypt, 
employed  some  Phenecian  navigators  to  explore  the 
whole  coast,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean, 
which  they  accomplished  in  three  years.  Nearly  six 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  the  Carthagenians  ex- 
plored the  western  coast,  to  a  considerable  distance  ;  but 
how  far,  is  a  disputed  point  among  modern  geographers. 
Some  believe  that  they  did  not  pass  the  coast  of  Moroc- 
co, while  others  suppose  that  they  went  as  far  as  Sher- 
bro  Island,  near  Liberia.  The  Bijogo  Islands,  a  little  to 
the  south  of  the  Gambia,  seem  to  be  pretty  clearly  de- 
scribed in  their  narratives.  Other  voyages  were  made 
in  subsequent  times.  If  Necho's  explorers  delineated 
the  true  shape  of  the  continent,  this  knowledge  was  af- 
terward lost,  for  ancient  maps  represent  the  coast  as  run- 
ning eastward  from  Cape  Palmas,  and  sweeping  round 


18 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


to  the  Red  Sea.  This  form  would  seem  to  prove,  that 
the  navigators  of  those  times  had  gone  as  far  as  to  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  where  the  coast  stretches  eastward  for 
a  thousand  miles  ;  but  had  not  reached  Cameroons,  where 
it  again  bends  to  the  southward. 

The  next  adventurers  in  African  waters,  wyere  the  Por- 
tuguese. Beginning  their  explorations  of  the  western 
coast,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  they 
pushed  them  forward  with  energy  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  and  rewarded  themselves  by  taking  possession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  God,  the  pope,  and  the  king. 
Their  monopoly  of  discovery  and  acquisition  was  not  long 
enjoyed.  The  Dutch  and  the  English  entered  the  field 
not  only  as  rivals,  but  sometimes  as  enemies.  The  high 
title  by  which  Portugal  claimed  her  African  possessions, 
was  not  able  to  retain  them  against  the  impious  demand 
of  arms.  She  still  managed,  however,  to  maintain  her 
power  on  some  parts  of  the  coast,  and  her  citizens  per- 
formed at  least  their  share  in  the  transportation  of  heath- 
en negroes  to  Christian  countries,  with  a  view  to  their 
conversion  and  salvation.  No  people  prayed  more  fer- 
vently for  the  success  of  slavers,  in  thus  plucking  brands 
from  the  burning,  than  did  the  Portuguese.  No  people 
were  more  fully  persuaded  that  the  kidnappers  were  do- 
ing God  service.  Even  within  a  few  years  past,  a  slaver 
has  expressed  his  opinion,  that  he  was  instrumental  in 
the  salvation  of  more  souls,  than  all  the  missionaries  in 
Africa. 

In  their  search  after  new  countries  to  occupy,  in  their 
pious  efforts  to  discover  Prestyr  John,  and  afterward  in 
their  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  slave  trade,  the  Portu- 
guese attained  a  more  extensive  knowledge  of  Africa 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


19 


than  any  other  people.  They  visited  countries  which  to 
this  day  have  been  seen  by  no  other  European.  Accord- 
ing to  a  Yoruba  proverb,  "  There  is  a  house  in  Awyaw, 
(Katanga)  called  the  house  of  silence  ;  a  white  man 
died  there."  On  inquiry,  I  was  informed  that  a  long- 
time ago,  two  white  mm  came  from  the  coast  to  see  the 
king  at  Awyaw,  where  one  of  them  died.  They  were 
no  doubt  Portuguese,  but  whether  they  expected  to  find 
Prestyr  John,  in  the  powerful  monarch  of  Hio,  or  were 
impelled  by  the  baser  motive  of  self-interest,  I  have  not 
ascertained.  Unfortunately,  the  extensive  observations 
of  the  Portuguese  were  not  made  known  to  Europe. 
England  knew  nothing  of  Katanga,  till  the  days  of 
Lander,  and  to  this  day,  we  can  scarcely  credit  the  fact, 
which  the  Portuguese  knew  two  hundred  years  ago,  that 
there  are  many  towns  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty-five  miles  in  circuit. 

The  slave  trade  was  a  dark  affair  in  more  respects 
than  one  ;  and  it  has  shed  but  little  light  on  African 
geography.  The  curiosity  of  learned  men  and  the  en- 
terprise of  merchants  have  done  a  little  more,  but  not 
much.  In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  English  sent  out  several  expeditions  to  explore  the 
coast  and  the  rivers.  One  of  these  penetrated  far  into 
the  interior,  by  the  Gambia,  and  dug  twelve  pounds  of 
gold.  For  a  long  time,  very  little  was  done  in  African 
exploration.  At  length,  about  the  year  1790,  the  Afric- 
an Association  in  England,  determined  to  send  intelli- 
gent explorers  into  Central  Africa.  Their  success  was 
far  less  than  their  hopes.  Ledyard,  who  was  first  ap- 
pointed, died  in  Egypt.  Lucas  advanced  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  Mediterranean.   Major  Houghton,  who 


20 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


attempted  to  reach  Timbuctoo  from  the  Gambia,  was 
robbed  by  the  Moors,  and  died  in  the  desert.  The  two 
journeys  of  Mungo  Park,  and  especially  the  first,  pro- 
duced a  great  sensation.  He  had  penetrated  into  the 
country  from'  the  mouth  of  the  Gambia,  more  than  one 
thousand  miles,  to  Silla,  near  Jene  ;  he  had  seen  the 
Niger  flowing  eastward,  and  had  learned  more  than  was 
ever  known  before  of  the  country  and  the  people.  His 
next  journey  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  explor- 
ing the  Niger,  which  some  supposed  communicated  with 
the  Nile.  He  committed  the  error  of  taking  with  him 
about  forty  men,  instead  of  the  two  or  three,  which  is 
the  maximum  allowed  by  the  character  of  the  country 
and  people  for  a  traveler.  Death  soon  reduced  their 
number  to  five,  including  Park,  all  of  whom  perished  at 
Busa,  on  the  Niger,  which  is  scarcely  three  hundred 
miles  on  a  direct  line  from  Lagos.  In  1822,  Denham 
and  Clapperton  crossed  the  desert  from  Tripoli,  and  pen- 
etrated Sudan  to  Mandara,  and  Sokoto.  Three  years 
after,  Clapperton  and  Lander  went  from  Badagry  to  So- 
koto, where  the  former  fell  a  victim  to  dysentery.  Since 
that  time,  various  journeys  have  been  made  through  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Africa.  Caille  succeeded  in  passing 
from  the  Atlantic  to  Timbuctoo,  and  thence  to  the  Med- 
iterranean. Lander  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Niger, 
by  descending  the  stream  from  Nufe.  Laing  reached 
Timbuctoo,  but  was  murdered  on  his  return.  Laird  and 
Oldfield  ascended  the  Niger  to  Kaba.  Beecroft  went  a 
little  farther.  Dr.  Barth  has  recently  returned  from  a 
great  tour  in  Sudan,  and  Dr.  Livingston  from  another. 
In  1854,  an  English  steamer  ascended  the  Chadda  or 
Benue  to  the  heart  of  the  continent,  and  returned  with- 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


21 


out  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  After  all,  but  little  is 
known  of  Africa.  Immense  districts  remain  wholly 
unknown,  and  our  scanty  information  concerning  other 
parts  is  often  inaccurate. 

We  turn  now  to  enterprises  of  a  different  character — 
to  the  humble  or  professedly  humble  efforts  of  mis- 
sionaries. It  is  not  quite  certain  whether  the  ancient 
Christians  did  or  did  not  carry  the  gospel  to  Central 
Africa.  Now  and  then  we  hear  a  rumor  of  Christians 
in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  but  the  reports  are  too 
vague  to  be  worthy  of  credit.  When  Denham  was  in 
Mandara,  he  saw  a  company  of  strangers  from  the  south, 
who  were  said,  by  the  Arabs,  to  be  Christians.  He  re- 
fused to  believe  it,  on  account  of  their  savage  appear- 
ance. "  Nevertheless,"  said  his  informants,  "  they  are 
Christians."  I  met  with  a  man  in  Ycruba,  who  affirmed 
that  he  had  been  far  beyond  Hausa  to  a  country  called 
Waiangarana,  where  the  people  are  neither  Mahometans 
nor  heathens.  But  he  was  unable  to  tell  what  they  be- 
lieved or  worshipped.  At  Ogbomoshaw,  a  strange-look- 
ing man  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  a  Christian.  He  said 
that  he  had  heard  of  Isa  (Jesus)  in  the  east — nay,  that 
he  had  seen  him  in  a  vision — and  that  the  people  in  that 
country  worship  him.  He  may  have  been  a  deceiver,  or 
he  may  have  been  in  Abyssinia.  I  could  make  no  sense 
of  his  story.  Still  it  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the 
negroes  west  of- the  Nile,  may  have  learned  something 
of  Christianity,  either  from  the  Copts  or  the  Abyssinians. 
If  so,  we  may  yet  discover  evidence  of  these  ancient 
missions. 

So  far  as  we  certainly  know,  the  first  efforts  to  convert 
the  negroes,  were  made  by  the  Portuguese.    About  the 


22 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  that  is,  four  hundred 
years  ago,  Bemoy,  a  Jaloff  prince,  was  taken  to  Lisbon, 
entertained  with  bull-fights  and  puppet-shows,  baptized, 
and  sent  back  as  a  Catholic  prince,  with  good  hopes  of 
reducing  the  Jaloffs  to  the  dominion  of  the  church.  The 
commander  of  the  vessel  in  which  Bemoy  returned  to 
the  Senegal,  stabbed  him  to  death  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
which  put  an  end  to  the  contemplated  mission.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  century,  several  princes  and  nobles  of 
Congo  wer(5  taken  to  Lisbon,  instructed,  and  baptized. 
On  their  return  home  with  several  missionaries,  the  king 
and  many  of  the  nobles  embraced  the  Catholic  religion. 
The  common  people,  not  by  hundreds,  but  by  thousands, 
placed  themselves  under  instruction,  and  were  received 
into  the  fold,  by  baptism.  This  ceremony  was  duly 
performed  according  to  the  rites  of  the  church,  with 
exorcism,  crossing,  and  tasting  of  salt.  Among  all 
these  ceremonies,  the  last  appears  to  have  made  the 
deepest  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  wondering  peo- 
ple ;  and  the  initiatory  ordinance  of  the  church  was 
soon  known  through  Congo  as  the  "  eating  of  salt"  cere- 
mony. Notwithstanding  this  natural  and  innocent  mis- 
take as  to  a  name,  the  converts  ran  well  according  to 
the  forms  of  their  new  religion.  They  appear  to  have 
been  captivated  and  carried  away  by  the  imposing 
ritual  of  their  new  worship.  No  people  could  kneel 
and  cross  themselves  more  zealously.  They  were  fond 
of  processions,  in  which  the  admiring  missionaries  were 
sometimes  deafened  by  such  shouts,  blowing  of  horns, 
and  noises,  as  they  had  never  before  heard. 

It  was  now  time  to  convert  the  people  from  the  error 
of  their  ways.    The  attempt  to  abolish  polygamy  pro- 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


23 


duced  a  civil  war,  in  which  the  Portuguese,  and  a  prince, 
who  rebelled  against  the  king  of  Congo,  were  successful. 
This  prince  being'  at  last  established  on  the  throne,  the 
mission  flourished  and  spread  exceedingly.  Countless 
numbers  were  baptized.  The  apostles  themselves  had 
not  made  converts  more  rapidly  than  did  these  people, 
after  their  fashion.  All  history  records  no  instance  of  a 
people  so  eminently  susceptible  as  the  Congoes.  There 
were  some  things,  however,  which  still  needed  reforming. 
The  converts  had  not  yet  renounced  idolatry.  Neither 
the  superior  ceremonies  of  the  church,  nor  the  urgent 
and  repeated  admonitions  of  their  new  spiritual  guides, 
could  shake  their  attachment  to  the  devil-worship  of 
their  ancestors.  Wearied  by  the  obstinancy  of  the 
people,  the  good  missionaries  thought  that  a  little  phys- 
ical force  would  give  the  greater  efficacy  to  moral 
suasion  ;  and  they  began  to  apply  this  severer  disci- 
pline of  their  church.  The  first  attack  was  made  on  the 
gods,  which  the  missionaries  knocked  down  and  hammer- 
ed to  pieces  with  their  cudgels.  The  next  was  on  the 
temples,  which  were  burnt  down,  sometimes  secretly  in 
the  night,  to  prevent  disturbance.  Some  of  the  more 
stupid  and  obstinate  of  the  idolatrous  converts,  were 
disciplined  with  whips  and  rods.  It  happened  that  the 
queen  herself  was  unwilling  to  give  up  her  beloved  idol. 
What  harm  could  a  little  addition  to  the  gospel  do  ? 
Her  confessor  reasoned,  till  reasoning  was  absurd,  and 
then  as  a  last  resort,  applied  the  extreme  discipline.  A 
few  strokes  of  the  whip  enlightened  her  majesty's  under- 
standing so  amazingly,  that  she  heartily  renounced 
idolatry,  and  submitted  herself  humbly  to  her  pastor.  But 
unfortunately,  her  goodness  soon  disappeared  like  the 


24 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


morning  dew,  and  she  related  the  whole  circumstance  to 
the  king  with  so  much  indignation,  that  he  espoused  her 
cause,  and  renounced  the  friendship  of  the  missionaries 
forever.  From  this  time,  the  mission  was  obliged  to 
struggle  with  difficulties,  and  declined  apace,  till  it 
finally  expired.  This  event  was  probably  hastened  by 
unexpected  events  in  Europe.  Luther's  great  schism 
occurred  just  at  the  time  that  the  struggling  Congo  mis- 
sion needed  efficient  support,  not  only  from  the  religious 
classes,  but  from  the  strong  arm  of  the  Portuguese 
government. 

More  than  a  hundred  years  ago  the  Moravians  sent  a 
party  of  missionaries  to  the  Gold  Coast,  but  they  were 
soon  cut  off  and  dispersed  by  the  diseases  of  the 
country. 

During  the  revolutionary  war,  a  number  of  negroes  in 
the  Southern  States  attached  themselves  to  the  British, 
by  whom  they  were  first  taken  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  then 
to  London.  Poor,  unhealthy,  and  rapidly  diminishing  in 
numbers,  they  seemed  in  danger  of  utter  extinction, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  settle  them  in  Sierra  Leone, 
as  a  colony.  Evangelical  Christians  had  already  begun 
to  feel  the  impulse  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  which 
at  present  stands  forth  as  a  prominent  feature,  and  a 
great  problem  in  the  affairs  of  the  world.  The  church- 
men sent  missionaries  to  Sierra  Leone,  who  were  soon 
followed  by  Wesleyans  and  others.  No  mission  of 
modern  times  has  been  more  successful  than  this,  as  I 
chall  show  in  the  sequel.  The  American  colonies  called 
missionaries  to  Liberia  and  Cape  Palmas.  The  Wesley- 
ans established  themselves  at  Cape  Coast  Castle,  and 
afterwards  at  Badagry.    At  the  latter  place,  they  were 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW. 


25 


joined  by  churchmen  from  Sierra  Leone,  and  both  par- 
ties advanced  to  Abbeokuta,  about  sixty  miles  in  the 
interior. 

In  the  mean  time,  Central  Africa  was  occasionally 
mentioned  as  a  future  field  for  missions,  but  nothing  was 
done.  Not  a  few  persons,  appalled  by  the  mortality  of 
missionaries  on  the  western  coast,  had  almost  concluded 
that  white  men  should  not  be  sent  to  that  country.  The 
natives  on  the  coast'  also  were  considered  to  be,  in  their 
present  degraded  state,  nearly  or  quite  too  low  to  de- 
mand immediate  attention.  Almost  any  field  appeared 
to  be  preferable  to  Africa.  The  Foreign  Mission  Board 
of  the  newly  formed  Southern  Baptist  Convention  had 
no  white  men  in  that  country,  and  their  colored  mis- 
sionaries confined  their  labors  mostly  to  the  colonists. 
The  question  arose,  What  can  be  done  for  Africa  ?  The 
prospect  appeared  gloomy,  so  far  as  regards  white  labor- 
ers. Finally,  it  was  suggested  that  Sudan,  remote  as  it 
is,  might  be  accessible  ;  that  it  might  have,  and  ought 
to  have,  by  reason  of  its  elevation,  a  healthy  climate  ; 
and  that  the  people  were  certainly  superior  in  intelli- 
gence and  morals  to  those  on  the  coast.  Here  was  a 
new  hope.  The  effort  might  be  a  failure,  but  still  the 
probabilities  of  success  were  sufficient  to  authorize,  if 
not  to  demand  a  trial.  On  the  22d  of  February,  1849, 
I  had  the  satisfaction  of  being  appointed  a  missionary  to 
Sudan.  The  next  difficulty  was  to  find  a  colleague.  I 
traveled  through  several  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
the  brethren  listened  with  interest  even  where  they 
doubted  ;  but  no  one  volunteered  to  go.  After  several 
months'  delay,  Hervey  Goodale,  who  was  under  appoint- 
ment for  China,  was  transferred  to  the  proposed  mission 


26 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


in  Central  Africa,  and  soon  after,  Robt.  F.  Hill ,  a  young 
colored  man,  was  selected  to  accompany  us. 

Our  instructions  could  not  be  very  definite.  We  were 
expected  to  penetrate  into  Sudan,  or  some  adjacent 
country,  and  to  remain  there  till  we  should  become  well 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  climate  and  people. 
It  was  thought  that  Badagry,  on  the  Slaye  Coast,  might 
be  a  convenient  point  from  which  to  commence  our  ex- 
plorations, and  that  Igboho  (Bohoo)'in  the  north  west  of 
Yoruba,  would  probably  be  a  suitable  place  for  our  first 
location.  Should  the  undertaking  prove  to  be  unsuc- 
cessful or  disastrous,  this  was  what  we  had  agreed  to 
risk.  If  our  hopes  were  realized,  other  missionaries 
would  join  us,  and  a  line  of  stations  would  be  formed 
from  the  coast  to  the  remote  interior. 

The  object  of  the  following  pages  is  to  show  what 
has  been  attempted  and  accomplished  in  pursuance  of 
this  design  ;  and  to  acquaint  the  public,  especially 
those  who  are  interested  in  this  attempt  to  evangelize 
Central  Africa,  with  the  countries  and  tribes  which  have 
been  seen  by  the  writer. 


MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIBERT ANS. 


27 


CHAPTER  II. 

MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIB  ERIAN  S. 

DETENTION  OP  LIBERIA  —  THE  RAINY  SEASON  —  TROPTCAL  VEGETATION  — 

THE    SURF  —  HARBORS  MONROVIA  CONDITION   OP   THE   PEOPLE  — 

TREATMENT    OP   NATIVES  INFLUENCE   OF    THE    PEOPLE  —  INFLUENCE 

OF    THE    COLONIES  CIVILIZATION    INCREASING  —  STATISTICS    (iN  A 

FOOT  NOTE)  —  DISSATISFACTION  OP  IMMIGRANTS. 

We  sailed  from  Providence,  P.  I.,  on  the  11th  of  De- 
cember, 1849,  and  arrived  at  Monrovia,  the  capital  of 
Liberia,  on  the  8th  of  February  following.  Here  we 
were  informed  that  the  vessel  in  which  we  had  come  out, 
could  not  proceed  to  her  destination,  till  she  had  made 
a  voyage  of  considerable  length  to  the  windward,  that 
is,  in  the  direction  of  the  great  desert.  This  movement, 
together  with  the  delay  of  trading  at  the  ports  to  the 
leeward  of  Liberia,  would  prevent  our  reaching  Badagry 
before  the  rainy  season,  which  is  generally  very  danger- 
ous to  travelers  in  the  sickly  climate  of  Africa.  At  this 
time,  we  were  ignorant  of  the  interesting  fact,  that  the 
rains  in  Yoruba  and  the  countries  beyond,  are  never  so 
severe  as  to  prevent  safe  and  comfortable  traveling; 
and  accordingly,  we  went  ashore  at  Monrovia,  to  remain 
till  the  next  dry  season,  unless  we  should  find  an  im- 
mediate passage  to  Badagry.  This  delay  was  not 
agreeable  ;  but  we  should  gain  the  advantage  of  pass- 


28 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ing  through  the  process  of  acclimation,  before  proceed- 
ing on  our  journey,  and  might  in  the  meantime  find 
abundance  of  missionary  work  to  do  in  the  colony.  Our 
first  employment  ashore  was  to  look  at  every  thing 
within  our  reach,  and  to  inquire  into  every  thing  we 
could  think  of.  It  may  be  presumed,  that  we  were  not 
inattentive  observers.  We  were  in  a  new  country  and 
climate,  where  every  beast,  bird  and  plant  bore  the  im- 
press of  novelty.  We  were  surrounded  by  black  men 
in  a  new  relation,  the  citizens  of  their  own  free  republic, 
civilized,  and  standing  forth  in  strong  contrast  with 
"  the  naked  negro,"  in  his  primeval  rudeness. 

Liberia  has  frequently  been  described,  sometimes 
with  great  fairness,  and  sometimes  with  surprising  de- 
partures from  the  truth.  Men  of  equal  candor,  measur- 
ing the  state  of  the  colony  by  different  standards,  one 
comparing  it  with  the  most  flourishing  countries  of  the 
globe,  and  another  with  the  barbarous  States  of  West- 
ern Africa,  have  naturally  differed  widely  in  their  judg- 
ment. Both  parties  have  erred.  To  form  a  correct 
judgment  in  regard  to  Liberia,  we  must  compare  it 
with  other  newly  settled  countries,  making  due  allow- 
ance for  the  circumstances  of  each  case.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  correct  many  erroneous  statements,  either 
for  or  against  Liberia  ;  but  to  state  briefly  what  I  saw 
and  heard  during  my  stay  in  the  country,  and  to  express 
my  opinion  as  to  what  may  be,  or  ought  to  be,  the  result 
of  African  colonization.  For  this  digression,  I  must 
crave  the  indulgence  of  the  reader,  on  the  ground  that 
a  friend  of  Central  African  Missions  can  scarcely  fail  to 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  missions  and  colonies  which 
have  been  planted  on  the  western  coast.    The  colonies 


MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIBERIANS. 


29 


of  the  west,  and  the  missions  of  Sudan  may  eventually 
flow  together  and  become  one  interest.  I  remember 
also  that  many  of  my  readers  may  not  have  seen  any 
other  work  on  Liberia,  and  to  them  a  description  of 
the  country  and  people  by  an  eye  witness  will  probably 
be  acceptable. 

One  who  has  never  been  in  the  torrid  zone  can  form 
no  just  conception  of  the  exuberance,  and  I  may  say, 
intensity  of  tropical  vegetation.  The  first  thing  that 
arrested  my  attention,  as  we  entered  the  anchorage  off 
Monrovia,  was  the  dense  verdure  which  clusters  on  the 
promontory  of  Mesurado.  The  whole  view  from  the 
ship,  consisting  of  a  low  monotonous  beach,  fringed  on 
one  side  by  the  white  foam  of  the  surf,  and  on  the  other, 
by  a  thick-set  wall-like  forest;  the  dashing  of  the  waves 
against  the  rocky  base  of  the  promontory,  which  hangs 
like  a  heavy  cloud  of  vegetation  over  the  sea;  the  half- 
clad  and  unclad  natives,  some  pulling  off  to  meet  us  in 
their  little  canoes,  and  others  standing  in  groups  on  the 
beach;  the  absence  of  all  marks  of  civilization;  and  the 
back  ground  of  the  picture  fading  away  in  the  dim, 
smoky  horizon  which  distinguishes  the  dry  season — all 
presented  a  scene  of  mingled  beauty,  wildness  and 
sombreness  which  accorded  well  with  my  previous  con- 
ceptions of  Africa.  It  was  very  natural  that  imagi- 
nation should  look  forward  beyond  the  blue  smoky 
mountain  tops  which  lay  like  clouds  in  the  distant  in- 
terior, and  wonder  what  strange  rivers,  towns  and  people 
were  there  in  the  unknown  countries  to  which  we  were 
going.  Some  reader  may  conclude  that  our  project  was 
about  as  wild  as  the  country  before  us,  and  as  visionary 
as  our  feelings  when  we  first  looked  out  upon  the  wide 


30 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


continent  of  Africa.  But  if  he  will  study  our  aims  and 
the  probabilities  of  success,  as  closely  as  we  had,  he 
may  admit  that  our  mission  was  a  sober  Christian  work, 
fully  worthy  of  our  most  strenuous  efforts.  Monrovia 
stands  behind  the  promontory,  on  a  peninsular  ridge 
between  the  Mesurado  river  and  the  sea.  There  are 
two  means  of  getting  ashore  from  vessels  in  the  anchor- 
age ;  one  in  the  little  round  bottomed  Kroo  canoes, 
which  threaten  to  capsize  every  moment,  and  would 
certainly  do  so,  should  you  indulge  in  any  awkward 
maneuvers  ;  and  another  in  boats  which  glide  safely 
enough  over  the  smooth  rollers  or  long  swelling  waves, 
and  are  generally  able  to  pass  though  the  surf  on  the 
bar,  without  much  danger.  There  are  two  landing 
places  also  ;  one  on  the  beach,  about  a  mile  from  the 
anchorage,  and  the  same  distance  from  the  town  ;  and 
the  other  at  the  wharves,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in 
front  of  Monrovia.  In  fine  weather,  a  boat  or  canoe  may 
be  landed  on  the  beach,  and  you  may  get  ashore  with 
dry  feet,  by  mounting  on  the  shoulders  of  a  stout  Kroo- 
man.  If  the  sea  is  rough,  you  must  take  a  boat  and 
pass  over  the  bar  into  the  river.  The  water  on  the  bar 
is  said  to  be  eight  or  nine  feet  deep,  and  with  good  rowers, 
there  is  no  great  danger  ;  but  you  must  enjoy  or  suffer  the 
novelty  of  dashing  through  several  breakers,  and  per- 
haps of  being  slapped  in  the  face,  or  on  the  back,  by 
several  white  sprays  before  you  reach  the  smooth  water. 

Bad  as  the  surf  is  at  Monrovia,  it  is  still  worse  at 
most  other  places  between  Sherbro  and  Fernando  Po. 
There  are  good  harbors  at  Goree,  Bathurst  and  Free- 
town, but  none  at  all  on  the  Grain  Coast,  Ivory  Coast, 
Gold  Coast  and  Slave  Coast.     Ships  are  obliged  to  an- 


MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIBERIANS. 


31 


chor  in  the  open  sea,  from  one  to  five  miles  from  the 
shore  ;  and  the  waves  roll  in  so  heavily  upon  the  beach, 
that  landing  is  often  dangerous.  Fortunately,  there  are 
no  hurricanes  in  Africa,  so  that  there  is  little  danger  of 
shipwreck.  At  a  few  places  where  there  are  rivers  with 
several  feet  of  water  on  the  bar,  as  at  Monrovia  and  La- 
gos, an  increase  of  traffic  will  authorize  the  employment 
of  steam  lighters,  which  will  be  a  great  convenience. 

Monrovia,  which  we  approached  by  way  of  the  river, 
presented  a  straggling,  bush-grown,  weather-beaten  ap- 
pearance, similar  to  some  old  towns  in  Mexico,  where 
the  sober  wisdom  of  the  people  allows  no  useless  expen- 
diture of  manual  labor.  The  wharves  were  rudely  con- 
structed of  stones.  A  few  little  vessels,  some  in  the 
water,  and  some  on  the  stocks,  indicated  a  degree  of  en- 
terprise among  the  people.  Two  or  three  half-filled  streets 
of  large  old  stores  and  warehouses,  extended  several 
hundred  yards  along  the  side  of  the  water,  and  the  hill 
side  between  these  and  the  dwellings  on  the  top  of  the 
ridge,  was  given  up  to  weeds  and  bushes.  My  first  im- 
pressions of  the  place  were  not  favorable.  Numbers  of  col- 
onists, mostly  well-dressed,  met  us  on  the  wharves  with 
smiles  and  cordial  greetings.  In  ascending  the  bushy 
hill,  we  passed  a  cake  shop,  exactly  in  the  style  of  the 
"  cakes  and  beer,  for  sale  here,"  to  be  found  among  old 
negro  women  in  Georgia.  I  soon  found  that  everything 
in  Monrovia  was  as  nearly  a  copy  of  similar  things  in 
America,  as  circumstances  would  permit.  In  general, 
there  was  only  one  dwelling  on  each  of  the  spacious 
lots,  and  the  unoccupied  portions  were  enclosed  by  stone 
walls  for  gardens,  or  given  up  to  the  weeds  and  bushes. 
Many  of  the  lots  were  still  unoccupied.    Want  of  peo- 


32 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


pie,  and  not  indolence,  is  the  true  reason  of  the  wild  and 
straggling  appearance  of  the  town.  Monrovia  is  a  new 
town,  or  at  least  but  thinly  populated,  the  whole  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  not  exceeding  two  thousand.  With 
the  same  population,  Freetown  would  present  the  same 
bush-grown  appearance. 

The  houses  in  Monrovia  are  generally  two  stories  high, 
the  lower  one  designed  for  servants,  store-rooms,  &c, 
being  built  of  stone  ;  and  the  upper  one  with  bed-rooms, 
parlors,  and  piazzas  for  the  family,  built  of  wood.  The 
furniture  is  similar  to  that  used  by  the  middle  classes  in 
America.  I  was  pleased  to  see  a  good  many  valuable 
books  and  periodicals  on  the  shelves  and  tables.  Most 
of  the  people,  in  short,  appear  to  live  as  comfortably  as 
people  of  means  commonly  do  at  home.  I  have  heard 
them  accused  of  being  too  fond  of  dress  and  show,  but 
if  they  were  more  so  than  other  people  who  live  in  towns, 
I  was  not  able  to  perceive  it. 

The  public  houses  are  a  government  house,  president's 
house,  jail,  four  churches,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presby- 
terian, and  Episcopalian  ;  and  several  school-houses,  one 
or  two  of  which,  I  believe,  are  called  colleges.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  people  are  religious.  Many  of  them, 
■no  doubt,  are  true  Christians  ;  but  others  are  too  much 
like  certain  professed  believers  in  other  countries.  The 
morals  of  the  people  generally,  appeared  to  be  much  the 
same  as  our  own.  In  one  respect,  however,  they  are 
said  to  be  deficient,  though  not  so  bad,  if  report  may  be 
trusted,  as  the  people  of  Sierra  Leone,  or  of  France. 
Illicit  intercourse  is  a  characteristic  of  Western  Africa. 
I  am  told  that  all  the  schools  in  Liberia  are  supported 
by  donations  from  America.    This  is  not  creditable  to 


MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIBERIANS. 


33 


the  people.  They  ought,  from  self  respect,  to  do  all 
they  can  to  sustain  their  own  schools  and  churches.  If 
they  do  not  stand  alone,  they  cannot  be  said  to  stand  at 
all.  It  is  said  again,  that  the  young  people  are  too  much 
addicted  to  idleness.  It  is  certainly  desirable,  that  every 
young  man  should  be  trained  to  some  useful  employ- 
ment, but  since  it  is  not  generally  done  in  other  coun- 
tries, we  can  hardly  demand  it  in  Liberia. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  contradict  the  reiterated 
report  that  the  Liberians  hold  slaves.  Within  the  col- 
ony slavery  is  prohibited,  both  to  emigrants  and  natives. 
I  have  seen  a  Yy  man  tried  and  fined  for  purchasing  a 
girl  from  a  native  trader.  In  some  cases,  slaves  have 
been  brought  down  from  the  interior,  and  pawned  to  Li- 
berians for  debt  ;  but  this  was  found  to  be  a  precarious 
species  of  collateral  security,  for  the  slave  being  free  by 
law,  the  moment  he  enters  the  colony,  may  go  where  he 
chooses,  without  consulting  either  the  pawnee  or  his 
master.  When  minors  are  liberated  by  a  decision  of 
the  court,  they  are  bound  out  to  be  civilized,  and  educated 
till  the  time  when  it  is  supposed  they  will  be  twenty- 
one  years  of  age;  and  their  apprenticeship  being  accom- 
plished, they  are  citizens  of  the  republic.  Canot,  the 
famous  Portuguese  slaver,  who  ought  to  know,  affirms 
in  his  memoir,  that  Liberia  has  exerted  an  immense  in- 
fluence in  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade. 

But  the  Liberians  cannot  be  justified  generally  in  re- 
gard to  the  manner  in  which  they  treat  the  natives. 
Making  all  due  allowance  for  social  and  other  differ- 
ences, they  regard  their  barbarous  neighbors  with  too 
much  contempt.  Neither  do  they  exert  themselves  as 
they  might,  to  improve  them  in  civilization  and  religion. 
2* 


34 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


It  is  true,  that  the  churches  and  schools  are  open  to  the 
natives,  if  they  choose  to  enter  them  ;  but  the  naked 
and  ignorant  barbarians  do  not  choose  to  trust  them- 
selves in  among  the  proud  and  well-dressed  Liberians, 
either  to  learn  or  to  worship.  I  am  glad  that  some  are 
now  making  more  special  efforts  to  improve  the  natives, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  persevering,  well-directed  ef- 
forts will  be  successful. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  nothing  has 
been  done  heretofore.  The  colony  is  said  to  contain 
about  one  thousand  reclaimed  natives,  some  of  whom 
are  consistent  Christians.  The  general  influence  of  the 
colony  has  been  good.  Degraded  as  the  natives  are  at 
present,  we  must  remember  that  they  were  far  more  so, 
twenty  years  ago.  If  they  improve  in  the  same  ratio 
for  the  next  twenty  years,  many  of  them  will  be  half 
civilized.  There  have  been  frequent  wars  in  Liberia,  as 
there  once  were  in  Sierra  Leone,  and  other  colonies  ;  but 
the  result  of  the  whole  has  been  an  increase  of  confi- 
dence and  friendship  on  the  part  of  the  natives.  Many 
have  placed  themselves  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
colony,  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  the  just  and  vigorous 
protection  of  its  laws.  This  fact  is  highly  creditable  to 
Liberia,  and  full  of  meaning.  The  Aborigines  of  Africa 
will  not  melt  away  before  the  emigrants,  as  the  Indians 
did  before  the  whites,  in  America,  but  being  of  the  same 
race,  will  gradually  blend  into  one  people.  Some,  in- 
deed, have  surmised  that  the  colonists  may  retrograde 
to  barbarism  ;  but  of  this  there  is  not  the  least  danger, 
if  we  may  judge  from  existing  facts.  The  Liberians 
themselves  are  advancing  in  civilization,  and  the  natives 
are  rising  with  them, 


MONROVIA  AND  THE  LIBERIA NS. 


35 


A  majority  of  the  colonists  appear  to  be  more  or  less 
engaged  in  traffic.  This  is  perfectly  natural  ;  for  there 
are  only  seven  or  eight  thousand  emigrants  scattered 
in  small  settlements  along  the  coast  of  four  hundred 
miles,  where  they  are  continually  presented  with  palm- 
oil,  ivory  and  other  articles  of  export,  to  tempt  them 
from  other  pursuits.  Liberia  needs  men.  Place  even  one 
hundred  thousand  colonists  there,  instead  of  eight  thou- 
sand, and  there  will  be  a  demand  for  labor,  which  does 
not  now  exist,  and  a  supply  which  is  now  impossible. 
After  all,  other  pursuits  are  not  neglected.  There  is  a 
sufficient  number  of  stone  masons,  bricklayers,  carpen- 
ters, &c,  and  about  one  twelfth  of  the  population  are 
engaged  in  farming.* 

Most  of  the  old  settlers  are  satisfied  ;  many  of  the 
new  comers,  especially  the  women,  are  not.  They  came 
out  in  ignorance  of  the  difficulties  which  must  be  en- 
countered in  all  new  countries  ;  and  were  disappointed 
because  they  expected  too  much.  Besides  this,  both 
women  and  men  are  liable  to  become  home  sick.  Many 


*  I  have  lately  received  the  following  statistics  from  the  best  au- 
thorities, which  I  believe  to  be  correct.    In  the  whole  country,  which 


is  now  divided  into  three  counties,  there  are : 

Settlements,  ------  23 

Colonists,           -  7,792 

Half  breeds  [born  of  Colonists  and  natives],  -  562 

Liberated  Africans,        ....  954 

Natives,  about         -  250,000 

Deaths,  in  acclimation,  about   -         -         -  10  per  cent. 

Proportion  of  Farmers,       ...  8  per  cent. 

Proportion  of  Mechanics,        -         -         -  5  per  cent. 


The  statistics  of  Mesurado  County,  which  includes  Monrovia,  are 
as  follows : 


36 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


of  our  own  people  who  remove  to  the  western  country, 
repent  it  for  a  while,  and  some  actually  return  to  the 
older  settlements.  This,  however,  is  rather  a  reproach 
to  the  people,  than  to  the  country  which  they  have  de- 
serted. 


Merchants,  -         -         -         -         -  -18 

Traders  and  Hawkers,  -         -  60 

Sugar  Mills,  [others  coming  out],  -         -  4 

Steam  Saw  Mills,       -----  3 

Religious  Sects,    -         -         -         -         -  4 

Places  of  Worship,    -         -         -  12 
Seminaries,  -         -         -         -         -  *2 

Day  Schools,  ------  9 

Scholars    -         -         -         -  -  350  to  400 

Proportion  of  people  who  read  and  write,  about  seven  eighths  of  the 
whole. 

Population  of  Monrovia,  about  -         -         -  2,000 


NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 


37 


CHAPTER  III. 

NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 

KROOMEN —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  TRIBE — POLYGAMY  —  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN 
IN  GUINEA  BARBARISM  RELIGION  OATHS  —  RECENT  IMPROVE- 
MENT OF  THE  KROOS  —  THE    GOLAHS  —  TIES  —  DEYS  —  THEIR  HOUSES, 

DRESS,    FOOD,    ETC.  —  M  ANDIN  GOES  —  THEIR    SCHOOLS  —  RELIGION  

TRAFFIC. 

The  Kroo  people  were  the  first  natives  we  saw  on  the 
coast.  As  we  approached  the  anchorage  at  Monrovia, 
several  of  thern  paddled  off  in  their  light  canoes  to  meet 
us,  and  ask  for  work  on  the  ship.  Their  only  clothing 
was  a  cotton  handkerchief  about  the  loins,  and  even 
this  some  of  them  had  transferred  to  their  heads,  to  keep 
it  dry  till  they  should  get  aboard. 

Judging  from  their  language  only,  the  Kroos  are  re- 
lated to  their  neighbors,  the  Bassahs  and  Deys.  Judged 
by  their  physical  and  mental  characteristics,  they  might 
be  considered  another  race.  They  are  all  woolly  headed, 
and  most  of  them  are  black  ;  but  we  occasionally  meet 
with  one  who  is  like  a  Puloh,  as  light  colored  as  a  mu- 
latto. They  deny  that  these  are  the  descendants  of 
white  men,  and  suppose  that  some  of  their  tribe  have 
always  been  of  this  color.  So  far  as  I  could  ascertain, 
they  have  no  tradition  as  to  their  original  location.* 


*  I  have  since  heard  that  they  came  from  the  interior,  where  they 
were  called  Klaho. 


38 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Some  of  them  are  the  most  hairy  and  brawny  men  I 
have  seen  in  Africa. 

The  Kroos  are  instinctively,  water  men.  They  are 
fond  of  working  on  ships,  and  for  the  sake  of  finding 
employment,  many  of  the  men  leave  their  country  near 
Cape  Palmas,  and  build  villages  of  huts  in  the  suburbs 
of  colonial  towns.  They  are  good  seamen,  and  general- 
ly speak  English. 

The  greatest  ambition  of  a  Krooman,  is  to  marry  many 
wives.  This  is  said  to  be  the  chief  reason  why  they 
wander  from  home,  and  labor  on  ships.  When  a  man 
has  earned  money  enough  to  pay  the  dowry  and  other 
expenses  incident  to  an  African  marriage,  he  returns  to 
his  native  village,  takes  a  wife,  and  remains  a  while  to 
enjoy  his  new  relation.  Then  he  is  off  again  to  earn 
more  money,  that  he  may  marry  another  wife.  The 
women  in  this  part  of  Africa  are  little  better  than  slaves, 
and  they  perform  most  of  the  farm  work  and  drudgery. 
When  a  Krooman  has  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  he  re- 
tires from  service,  and  remains  at  home  with  his  wives, 
who  willingly  support  him  by  their  labor.  He  is  now 
what  is  called  a  "  big  man,"  and  probably  no  dis- 
tinguished merchant,  politician,  or  scholar,  in  our  own 
country,  enjoys  his  hard  earned  reputation  more  than  he 
does. 

The  Kroos  are  strongly  attached  to  their  supersti- 
tions, and  even  to  their  ignorance  and  barbarism.  It  is 
said  that  if  one  of  them  should  renounce  idolatry,  and 
learn  to  read,  he  would  be  put  to  death  by  the  tribe. 
Some  years  ago,  a  missionary  made  an  appointment  to 
preach  at  Krootown,  in  the  suburbs  of  Monrovia.  On 
arriving  at  the  place,  he  found  the  people  seated  on  the 


NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 


39 


ground,  making  a  noisy  pow-wow  over  scraps  of  news- 
paper. u  What  are  you  doing  ?  n  inquired  the  mission- 
ary. "  Sarvin'  God,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  More 
recently,  a  Krooman  in  the  same  village  became  im- 
pressed with  the  influences  of  the  Gospel  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  built  himself  a  little  cottage  of  boards  among 
the  palm  leaf  shanties  of  his  countrymen  ;  but  he  soon 
died,  as  the  colonists  suppose,  by  means  of  poison.  Yet 
even  the  Kroos  believe  in  one  God,  and  only  one,  who 
is  far  superior  to  all  idols.  Their  prayers  are  offered  to 
devils,  that  is,  idols  ;  because,  in  common  with  other  ne- 
groes, they  regard  these  as  the  media  through  which 
God  communicates  protection  and  blessings  to  men. 
In  judicial  proceedings,  they  swear  by  salt,  dipping 
their  forefinger  first  into  the  salt,  then  pointing  it  to- 
ward the  earth,  then  to  heaven,  and  then  putting  it  into 
the  mouth. 

But  the  changes  which  are  working  irresistibly  in 
Africa,  are  affecting  the  Kroomen  also.  On  my  late 
return  from  the  interior,  I  found  numbers  of  them  at 
Lagos,  decently  clad  in  shirts  and  trousers.  Sitting 
one  day  at  my  window  in  Freetown,  my  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  smartly  dressed  Krooman,  who  wore 
a  moustache,  and  sported  a  cane — an  unmistakable 
dandy.  "  Who  after  this,"  said  I,  "  will  affirm  that 
Kroomen  can  not  be  improved  ?"  A  few  days  after,  I 
went  down  to  Krootown,  where  I  found  swarms  of  them 
decently  clothed.  A  great  change  seems  to  have  come 
over  them  within  a  few  years.  Several  of  them  are 
soldiers  in  the  barracks  ;  one  is  a  constable  in  Free- 
town ;  and  one  is  a  Methodist  preacher,  who  draws  large 
congregations.    An  elderly  Krooman  repeated  these 


40 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


and  similar  facts  to  me  with  evident  pleasure,  and  said, 
"  Time  past  Krooman  was  fool,  now  he  eye  open  a 
little  ;  only  book  we  want  now  ;  we  be  smart  man." 
All  this  probably  interested  me  the  more,  because  I  have 
long  predicted  that  the  Kroos  will  be  among  the  first 
natives  of  Liberia  to  embrace  civilization,  and  incorpo- 
rate themselves  with  the  immigrants  as  citizens  of  the 
republic. 

The  Golah  people  inhabit  both  sides  of  St.  Paul's 
river,  back  of  Monrovia.  These  are  the  "  Gula  ne- 
groes," of  the  Southern  States.  They  can  not  be  re- 
ferred with  certainty,  to  any  of  the  tribes  in  the  same 
vicinity,  but  their  language  has  some  affinities  with 
those  on  the  lower  Gambia,  among  fragmentary  tribes, 
who  probably  descended  from  the  interior.  The  Golahs 
are  degraded  and  superstitious,  and  it  seems  to  me  one 
of  the  meanest  tribes  in  Africa. 

The  Vy  people  about  Grand  Cape  Mount,  belong  to 
the  same  extensive  ethnical  family  as  the  Mandingoes. 
More  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  as  now, 
tiiey  were  considered  superior  to  other  tribes  on  this 
part  of  the  coast.  They  are  the  only  people  in  Africa 
who  have  invented  an  alphabet  for  their  language.  It 
would  seem  that  the  first  navigators  on  this  coast  found 
them  unable  to  count  more  than  ten,  since  hunder-dunder 
and  tousan-dunder,  their  terms  for  100,  and  1,000,  and 
evidently  borrowed  from  Europeans.  Some  of  the  Vies, 
as  of  other  superior  tribes,  have  renounced  heathenism, 
and  embraced  the  religion  of  Mahomet,  which  the  more 
stupid  tribes  never  do.  These  facts  indicate  the  people 
to  whom  we  should  first  offer  the  Gospel.  I  believe  it 
is  a  general,  if  not  a  universal  rule,  that  the  most  intel- 


NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 


11 


ligent  heathens,  other  things  being  equal,  arc  the  most 
easily  converted  from  idolatry. 

Of  the  Bassahs,  Pessies,  and  other  barbarous  tribes, 
I  obtained  no  definite  information  The  Dey  people 
who  live  about  the  mouth  of  St.  Paul's  river,  nu- 
merically feeble.  In  language  and  superstition,  they 
are  related  to  the  Kroos  and  Bassahs.  Though  some- 
what improved  by  intercourse  with  the  colonists,  they 
are  still  savages.  Their  houses  are  circular  huts,  built 
of  poles  set  upright,  and  plastered  with  clay.  They 
are  grossly  and  stupidly  superstitious.  Both  men  and 
women  sometimes  daub  their  faces  with  red  and  white 
clay,  by  way  of  ornament.  Their  dress  is  a  breech- 
cloth  and  a  wrapper,  or  sheet  thrown  around  the  body. 
The  usual  food  of  the  country  is  rice,  cassava  and  "  pa- 
laver sauce,"*  a  stewed  mixture  of  meat,  herbs  and 
palm-oil,  seasoned  with  salt  and  red  pepper.  Their  huts 
contain  no  furniture. 

The  Mandingoes,  whose  country  lies  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  north-east  of  Monrovia,  are  one  of 
the  finest  tribes  in  Africa — tall,  erect,  muscular  and  in- 
telligent. Their  ethnological  affinities  extend  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Ashanti  to  the  Great  Desert.  Like 
other  tribes  in  the  interior,  the  Mandingoes  are  suffi- 
ciently mixed  with  Caucasian  blood  to  give  them  a 
semi-European  cast  of  countenance,  which  is  sometimes 
accompanied  with  a  yellow  or  mulatto  skin.  They  are 
not  all  Mahometans,  some  whole  Mandingo  tribes  being 
still  chiefly  Pagan,  but  those  among  them  who  have 


*  So  called  because  whites  and  negroes  ate  it  together  in  palavers 
or  councils. 


42 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


embraced  the  religion  of  the  false  prophet,  are  gener- 
ally more  zealous,  and  better  acquainted  with  the  Koran, 
than  any  other  negroes  west  of  the  Niger.  They  have 
schools  in  all  their  principal  towns,  for  males  only,  in 
which  the  course  of  study  is  said  to  be  seven  years. 
Nothing  is  taught  but  the  Koran  ;  but  I  have  no  doubt 
that  so  sprightly  and  inquisitive  a  people  would  be 
eager  readers  of  history  and  geography,  if  they  had 
the  books.  All  of  them  that  I  have  seen  are  strongly 
opposed  to  intoxicating  drinks,  and  I  was  told  that 
some  of  them  would  not  taste  of  food  for  which  rum  has 
been  given  in  exchange.  When  introduced  to  one  of 
them,  in  the  interior,  his  first  question  was,  "  Do  you 
drink  rum?"  They  also  oppose  music  and  dancing  as 
a  heathenish  practice,  unfit  for  the  worshippers  of  the 
true  God.  I  was  told  of  a  class  of  devotees  in  the  tribe, 
who  abstain  from  war  and  traffic,  and  refuse  to  shake 
hands  with  another  man's  wife.  Their  employment  is 
reading,  prayer,  and  writing  charms  to  sell  to  their  su- 
perstitious countrymen.  Some  of  them  have  manu- 
script copies  of  the  Pentateuch  and  Psalms,  all  in 
Arabic,  of  course  ;  and  printed  copies  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  last  is  much  respected ;  but  they  strenu- 
ously deny  that  "the  prophet  Jesus"  is  the  Son  of  God. 
They  have  among  them  another  little  book,  a  dialogue 
or  dispute  between  a  devotee  and  a  trader,  which,  from 
its  allusions  to  native  customs,  must  have  been  com- 
posed by  one  of  themselves.  The  devotee  alleges  that 
traffic  is  irreligious,  and  that  rich  men  are  always  wick- 
ed. The  trader  replies,  that  Abraham  was  both  wealthy 
and  righteous  ;  and  he  defends  traffic  by  urging  the 
necessity  of  food  and  raiment.     A  man  at  Sama  re- 


NATIVE  TRIBES  IN  LIBERIA. 


43 


lated  to  me  the  history  of  Joseph  with  great  accuracy, 
except  that  he  spoke  of  Rachel's  grief  when  her  son 
was  supposed  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  All  the 
Mandingoes  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  believe  that 
missionaries  would  be  permitted  to  live  and  preach  in 
their  country,  but  they  think  that  no  Mandingo  could 
be  induced  to  renounce  Mahometanism.  They  deny  that 
the  Golahs  and  other  rude  tribes  are  capable  of  being 
converted  at  all. 

The  Mandingoes,  like  the  Hausas,  Kanikes  (Burnuese), 
Yorubas,  and  other  improved  tribes,  are  much  addicted 
to  traffic,  and  frequently  make  long  journeys  of  months 
or  years  to  distant  countries.  By  these  means,  they 
have  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  countries, 
tribes,  and  languages  of  Africa,  and  learn  something  of 
other  continents  from  the  Arabs,  and  from  Europeans 
and  Americans  on  the  sea  coast. 


44 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

~       SOIL,  FARMS,  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA t 

ROCKS  OF  LIBERIA  —  SOIL  —  SWAMP  —  FARMS — RICE  —  INDIAN  CORN  — 
MILLET  —  BEANS  —  ARROW  ROOT — YAMS  —  CASSAVA — TANIA—  SWEET 

POTATOES          ONIONS  —  FRUITS  —  SUGAR    CANE  —  COFFEE  —  GINGER  — 

PEPPER  —  COTTON  —  INDIA  RUBBER  —  GROUND  PEAS  —  TELFARIA  —  CAS- 
TOR OIL  —  LAMP  OILS  —  THE  OIL  PALM  —  THE  BUTTER  TREE. 

The  rocks  at  Monrovia  and  in  the  Golah  country  are 
chiefly  clay  stone,  cemented  with  iron,  and  a  very  an- 
cient amorphous  trap  (sometimes  called  "  black  gran- 
ite,") which  occasionally  shows  a  disposition  to  form 
joints.  In  some  places  there  is  a  small  quantity  of  a 
coarse  and  friable  sand  stone,  and  the  soil  is  occasion- 
ally mixed  with  scales  of  transparent  mica,  with  now 
and  then  a  bit  of  crystal  quartz.  No  feldspar  is  visible 
in  any  of  the  rocks  ;  and  there  is  no  indication  of  lime. 
Iron,  which  appears  to  be  very  abundant,  is  the  only 
metal,  unless  some  of  the  so-called  iron  ore  is  zinc* 
Neither  organic  remains  nor  drift  is  found  in  this  part 
of  the  country. 

The  soil,  wherever  I  saw  it,  is  generally  productive, 
but  never  so  exceedingly  fertile  as  we  have  been  taught 


*  There  are  specimens  of  rich  zinc  ore  in  the  Colonization  Rooms, 
New  York,  which  have  been  received  from  Liberia. 


SOIL  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA. 


45 


to  believe.  It  ranges  from  good  second  quality  to  poor, 
but  the  latter  is  unusual.  Whether  rich  or  poor,  it  is 
mostly  of  a  yellowish  color,  which  it  imparts  to  the 
rivers.  There  is  little  or  no  swamp,  except  at  a  few 
points  on  the  coast ;  for  the  country  is  almost  univers- 
ally broken  and  rocky,  or  more  or  less  gravelly. 
Streams  of  pure  water  are  numerous. 

Liberia  is  too  thinly  occupied  by  immigrants,  and 
offers  too  many  facilities  for  traffic  with  the  natives,  to 
be  an  agricultural  country  at  present.  The  ox  and  the 
horse,  those  useful  auxiliaries  of  man  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  are  scarcely  ever  employed  in  Liberia  ;  and 
I  doubt  whether  the  small  and  ill-fed  breeds  now  found 
in  the  country,  would  be  able  to  undergo  the  drudgery 
of  farm  work  in  a^  tropical  climate. 

The  process  of  farming  among  the  natives  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  is  extremely  simple.  In  the  dry 
season,  corresponding  to  our  winter,  the  men  cut  the 
bushes  from  the  land  with  bill-hooks,  which  are  a  kind 
of  heavy  pruning  knife.  In  the  spring,  when  the  rains 
begin  to  fall,  the  women  sow  rice,  which  requires  but 
little  cultivation,  because  newly  cleared  land  produces 
but  little  grass.  A  crop  of  cassava  is  planted  for  the 
second  year,  by  the  end  of  which,  the  grass  has  taken 
full  possession  of  the  farm,  and  it  is  abandoned  for  a 
new  ground.  The  bushes  return  in  full  vigor  after 
three  or  four  years,  and  totally  destroy  the  grass,  which 
otherwise  might  afford  rich  pasturage  for  cattle.  Indo- - 
lence  is  the  only  just  reason  why  beef,  milk  and  butter, 
are  not  abundant  in  this  country,  where  they  are  now 
almost  unknown. 

Unhappily  the  native  method  of  farming  has  been  too 


46 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


closely  followed  by  the  Liberians.  If  they  should  culti- 
vate the  same  land  from  year  to  year,  it  would  not  only 
become  mellow,  and  easily  plowed,  but  would  finally 
lose  its  disposition  to  produce  bushes,  and  would  yield 
a  luxuriant  harvest  of  grass  every  fall  for  horses  and 
cattle.  In  Yoruba,  where  there  are  no  plows,  the  peo- 
ple cultivate  the  same  land  for  many  years  together. 
They  are  not  to  be  frightened  by  grass.  In  the  dry 
season,  when  the  grass  is  naturally  less  luxuriant,  they 
walk  into  their  farms  with  their  strong  hoes,  and  turn 
up  the  ground  as  deeply  as  many  people  plow,  and  they 
never  fail  to  raise  good  crops  of  Indian  corn,  millet,  cow 
peas,  yams,  &c,  which  are  followed  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  season  by  luxuriant  crab-grass,  for  their  cattle  and 
horses.  When  the  land  is  finally  exhausted,  it  remains 
a  grass  field  or  prairie,  so  that  the  Yoruba  country,  all 
of  which  has  been  reclaimed  and  abandoned  again  and 
again,  is  open,  airy  and  healthy.  Even  the  mountains 
of  Sierra  Leone  are  cultivated  from  year  to  year,  and 
the  removal  of  the  timber  has  greatly  improved  the 
health  of  the  country. 

The  productive  soil  and  the  perpetual  summer  of  Li- 
beria, of  course  adapts  it  to  all  the  valuable  productions 
of  similar  countries  within  the  tropics.  Many  of  these 
are  not  yet  known  in  the  colony,  but  might  be  introduced 
from  other  countries.  Among  the  articles  already  in- 
troduced or  indigenous  to  the  soil,  we  may  notice  the 
following,  with  occasional  directions  how  to  use  them. 

Rice  is  a  staple  in  Liberia.  The  quality  is  superior, 
and  the  quantity  may  be  increased  to  inexhaustible 
stores.  It  grows  luxuriantly  on  uplands,  and  is  easy  of 
cultivation.     In  many  places,  there  is  abundance  of 


SOIL  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OP  LIBERIA.  47 

water  power  on  the  rocky  streams  for  working  rice 
mills. 

Kice  flour,  either  pounded  or  ground,  made  into  dough 
or  batter,  with  or  without  mashed  plantains,  and  left  to 
rise,  makes  good  bread  and  pancakes. 

Indian  Corn  is  common  throughout  tropical  Africa, 
wheie  it  probably  existed  long  before  the  discovery  of 
Ameiica.  The  Yorubas  have  a  tradition — disfigured  by 
superstition — that  it  came  from  the  east.  It  was  either 
Indian  corn  or  millet  which  the  Phenician  navigators 
sowed  and  gathered  at  different  places  during  their 
voyage  around  the  continent  ;  for  no  species  of  wheat 
will  produce  grain  on  the  tropical  coasts  of  Africa. 
Considerable  quantities  of  Indian  corn  are  raised  in 
Sierra  Leone,  and  I  have  seen  still  better  specimens  in 
the  Golah  country  within  fifty  miles  of  Monrovia.  It 
would  certainly  be  a  valuable  crop  in  Liberia,  especially 
at  a  distance  from  the  coast.  In  Yoruba,  the  best  lands 
will  produce  from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre. 
They  plant  it  in  March  and  April,  and  a  second  crop  in 
August.  If  put  up  in  the  shuck,  it  keeps  tolerably  free 
from  weevils  for  several  months.  The  price  of  corn  in 
Yoruba  varies  from  twenty  to  seventy-five  cents  a 
bushel.  The  Yorubas  esteem  this  grain  so  much,  that 
they  have  a  proverb  which  says,  "  Indian  corn  is  the 
chief  support  of  man."  We  make  free  use  of  corn  bread 
at  our  missions,  grinding  the  corn  on  a  steel  mill,  which 
we  carried  with  us,  because  there  are  no  mills  in  the 
country. 

Corn  may  be  prepared  for  food  in  various  ways  with 
which  ourselves  and  the  Liberians  are  not  familiar.  In 
Mexico  they  make  excellent  bread  by  boiling  the  corn  in 


48 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


lye,  husking  it,  and  grinding  it  to  a  paste  with  water, 
with  or  without  eggs  and  butter.  The  matat,  or  instru- 
ment with  which  the  corn  is  ground,  consists  of  a 
hard  flat  stone,  on  which  the  grains  are  laid,  and  a  stone 
cylinder  or  roller,  eight  or  ten  inches  long,  and  as  large 
as  one's  arm,  with  which  the  corn  is  ground,  and  at  the 
same  time  made  into  paste.  Whether  the  bread  is  baked 
on  a  griddle,  like  buckwheat  cakes,  or  in  an  oven,  it  is 
very  superior  and  wholesome.  If  the  Liberians  would 
plant  corn  and  introduce  the  matat,  they  would  soon 
forget  imported  flour. 

The  Fantee  people  on  the  Gold  Coast  prepare  corn- 
bread  much  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Mexicans  do, 
only  they  soak  the  corn  in  water  till  it  sours,  before 
they  grind  it. 

The  Yorubas  grind  the  sour  corn  on  a  matat  like  the 
Fantees,  but  instead  of  baking  it  into  bread,  they  boil  it 
into  a  sour  mush  called  ekkaw,  as  follows  :  Put  the  newly 
ground  sour  paste  or  wet  meal  into  a  pot  of  cold  water, 
and  let  it  soak  twelve  hours  ;  then  rub  it  thoroughly 
between  the  hands  to  separate  all  the  starch,  and 
squeeze  the  bran  dry  in  handfulls  ;  strain  the  water,  and 
boil  it  to  the  consistence  of  thin  mush.  According  to 
the  Yorubas,  this  is  the  most  wholesome  food  ever  eaten. 
Diluted  with  warm  water,  it  is.  much  drunk,  instead  of 
our  tea  and  coffee.  It  is  also  wrapped  up  in  leaves,  in 
balls  as  large  as  one's  fist,  to  be  sold  in  market.  These 
balls  are  sufficiently  firm  to  bear  being  carried  in  a  bas- 
ket without  injury,  and  they  will  keep  several  days  with- 
out spoiling.  They  are  eaten  with  meat,  palaver  sauce, 
syrup,  &c. 

Several  species  of  millet  (sorghum)  as  Guinea  corn, 


SOIL  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA.  49 


Egyptian  millet,  &c.,  are  well  adapted  to  Liberia,  and 
are  much  prized  in  Yoruba  and  Sudan.  The  Guinea 
corn  is  one  of  the  best  articles  in  the  world  for  horses, 
and  being  easily  raised,  would  be  invaluable  to  Liberian 
farmers.  The  Yorubas  frequently  eat  it  in  the  form  of 
ekkavo. 

Beans  and  peas  of  several  kinds,  especially  Lima  beans, 
and  black-eyed  peas,  flourish  finely  in  the  sunny  fields 
of  Africa. 

Arrow  root  is  a  very  valuable  article,  which  grows  with 
little  trouble.  To  prepare  it,  wash  the  roots  clean, 
scrape  off  the  skin  with  a  knife,  stir  the  grated  mass 
thoroughly  in  plenty  of  the  clearest  water,  strain,  let  it 
settle,  pour  off  the  water,  and  dry  the  starch  on  clean 
white  cloths.  The  arrow  root  is  then  ready  for  use  or 
exportation.  To  cook  it,  make  it  into  a  thin  paste  with 
cold  water,  and  pour  in  boiling  water,  stirring  all  the 
time,  till  it  becomes  a  transparent  mass.  It  is  then 
done.  If  cooked  with  milk  instead  of  water,  it  will  be 
richer.  Arrow-root  flour  made  as  above,  is  nice  for 
bread  and  pastry,  so  that  the  poorest  people  in  Liberia 
may  have  these  articles  without  the  expense  of  buying 
inferior  wheat  flour  at  high  prices. 

Yams  grow  best  on  rather  sandy  soil,  such  as  may  be 
found  not  far  from  Monrovia.  They  should  be  planted  in 
January,  in  large  loose  hills  about  as  far  apart  as  sweet 
potatoes  are,  and  a  handful  of  leaves  or  grass  should 
be  thrown  on  the  top  of  each  hill,  to  prevent  the  sun 
from  injuring  the  plantings.  Only  one  yam  is  obtained 
from  a  hill,  but  that  is  larger  than  several  large  sweet 
potatoes.  The  vines  require  to  be  struck  like  beans.  In 
Yoruba,  there  are  several  varieties  of  yams,  some  with 
3 


50 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


prickly  vines,  all  of  which  are  indigenous.  The  tropi- 
cal yam  is  not  a  kind  of  potato,  but  is  a  totally  different 
plant,  (dioscorea)  ;  two  useless  species  of  which  are 
found  in  the  Southern  States. 

Several  good  things  are  made  of  the  yam,  Fufn, 
which  is  eaten  with  palaver  sauce,  &c,  is  boiled  yam, 
peeled  and  pounded  in  a  mortar,  with  a  little  water 
added,  till  it  has  the  consistence  of  wheat  dough.  E In- 
law, which  keeps  for  a  long  time,  and  is  used  to  make 
an  excellent  pudding  or  mush,  is  prepared  as  follows  : 
Peel  and  cut  the  raw  yams  into  slices  an  inch  thick  ; 
simmer  the  slices  very  slowly  in  a  wide  mouthed  earthen 
pot  for  twenty-four  continuous  hours  ;  dry  them  in  the 
sun  on  a  scaffold,  pound  in  a  mortar,  and  sift. 

Cassava,  or  cassada,  grows  from  cuttings  of  the  stock, 
almost  without  cultivation.  This  species  of  the  plant 
has  no  poisonous  qualities,  in  the  roots  at  least  ;  but  is 
good  for  food  both  boiled  and  roasted,  and  valuable  in 
the  raw  state  to  fatten  goats  and  sheep.  The  boiled 
roots  make  an  excellent  kind  of  fufu. 

To  make  the  farina  of  commerce,  grate  the  peeled 
roots  rather  fine,  put  the  mass  into  a  bag  of  grass  or 
coarse  cloth,  and  press  it  under  a  weight  till  all  the 
milky  water  is  expelled,  and  dry  it  first  in  the  sun  on 
cloths,  and  then  in  flat  bottomed  vessels,  over  a  slow 
fire,  taking  care  to  stir  it  to  prevent  burning.  To  cook 
farina,  simply  stir  it  into  boiling  water.  An  excellent 
bread  is  made  by  baking  stiff  farina  batter,  till  the 
crust  is  brown.  Cassava  starch  is  made  like  arrow  root. 
The  grated  mass  from  which  the  starch  has  been  washed, 
may  be  baked  like  buckwheat,  and  the  cakes  are  very 
pleasant  and  wholesome. 


SOIL  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA.  51 

Tania,  called  koko,  is  an  excellent  root  which  grows 
to  perfection  in  Africa.  There  are  two  kinds,  one  of 
which  is  particularly  excellent. 

Sweet  potatoes,  though  not  indigenous,  grow  like  weeds 
wherever  planted.  Their  flavor  is  much  improved  by 
keeping  a  month  or  two  in  a  dry,  airy  place  ;  and  the 
yellow  skinned  variety  of  America  is  superior  to  the  red 
ones  planted  by  the  negroes. 

The  onions  of  Africa  are  found  to  be  superior  in  flavor 
to  our  own.  Only  the  small  kind  succeed  on  the  coast, 
but  large  red  and  white  ones  flourish  in  the  interior. 

The  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  temperate  zone  grow 
indifferently,  or  not  at  all  in  Africa.  Apples,  pears, 
peaches,  plums,  cherries,  &c,  are  never  seen.  Cabbages, 
snap  beans,  garden  peas,  beets,  mustard,  lettuce,  &c, 
&c,  may  or  may  not  repay  the  planter,  according  to  his 
skill  in  cultivation.  The  Africans  have  vegetables  of 
their  own,  none  of  which  would  be  much  regarded  in 
America. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  wild  fruits,  very  few  of 
which  are  worth  the  trouble  of  gathering.  But  the 
pine  ajpjple,  which  flourishes  exceedingly  well  in  the 
woods  of  Liberia,  is  superior  to  any  we  can  procure  in 
this  country.  Some  botanists  believe  it  was  first  brought 
to  Africa  from  the  western  continent,  and  this  opinion 
appears  to  be  favored  by  the  fact,  that  it  is  never  seen 
in  a  wild  state  very  far  from  the  coast.  The  Yorubas 
call  it  okpaimbo,  the  white  man's  palm,  because  the  plant 
resembles  a  young  palm  tree,  and  because  they  at  least 
first  received  it  from  the  whites.  It  is  not  found  in  a 
wild  state  on  the  Slave  Coast,  where  the  Yorubas  live. 

The  tropical  fruits  which  have  been  introduced  into 


52 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia,  are  chiefly  the  orange,  lime, 
lemon,  papaw,  plantain,  banana,  mango,  cashewnut, 
guava,  granadilla,  sweet  sop,  sour  sop,  avagado-pear, 
rose  apple  and  tamarind.  Very  few  of  these  are  found 
in  the  interior,  but  we  are  trying  to  introduce  them 
from  the  colonies.  The  bread  fruit  is  becoming  common 
at  Lagos.  The  cocoa  nut  is  found  everywhere  on  the 
coast. 

Among  the  articles  which  the  soil  of  Liberia  does  or 
may  produce  for  exportation,  we  may  enumerate  sugar, 
coffee,  spices,  cotton,  gums,  and  oils,  in  addition  to  sev- 
eral articles  above  described. 

Sugar  cane  never  grows  wild,  as  we  have  been  in- 
formed, but  is  well  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  es- 
pecially of  Liberia.  Whether  the  free  labor  of  that 
country  can  produce  sugar  as  an  article  of  commerce, 
is  a  problem  which  the  Liberians  are  trying  to  solve  by 
experiment.  There  are  several  sugar  mills  in  the  coun- 
try, and  last  year,  (1856,)  one  man  planted  about  one 
hundred  acres  in  cane.  Every  farmer  can  at  least  make 
sugar  and  syrup  enough  for  his  own  use,  as  many  have 
done  in  Florida. 

The  coffee  of  Liberia  is  said  to  be  very  superior,  and  will 
probably  become  a  valuable  article  of  export.  Some  have 
affirmed  that  a  man  who  is  once  fairly  established  in 
the  business  can  make  five  hundred  dollars  to  six  hun- 
dred dollars  to  the  hand  every  year.  The  indigenous 
coffee  tree  is  remarkable  for  its  narrow  leaves  and  yel- 
lowish color. 

The  African  ginger  is  good  and  easily  cultivated.  The 
red  pepper  is  scarcely  equalled  by  any  in  the  world.  A 
species  of  black  pepper,  (probably  a  cubebs,  though  this 


SOIL  AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA.  53 


has  been  doubted,)  grows  in  the  forests  of  Liberia,  Yor- 
uba, &c.  The  plant  is  a  climbing  vine,  and  the  newly 
ripened  berries  are  red.  So  far  as  I  have  learned,  no 
species  has  been  introduced  from  either  of  the  Indies. 

Two  species  of  cotton,  known  to  us  as  the  sea  island 
and  upland,  are  cultivated  in  Africa  ;  and  the  staple  is 
good,  but  the  yield  cannot  be  more  than  one-fourth  of 
what  it  is  on  similar  lands  in  the  Southern  States.  There 
is  a  third  species  in  the  interior  with  very  small  pods 
and  leaves,  and  of  an  unusually  fine  staple,  the  flowers 
of  which  are  red  when  they  first  open.  No  kind  of 
cotton  is  indigenous,  but  the  date  of  its  introduction 
into  the  country  must  be  very  remote.  It  is  known  by 
different  names  to  different  tribes  or  families  through- 
out the  continent.  In  Yoruba,  cotton  is  planted  in 
July,  after  the  heaviest  rains  of  the  year  have  subsided. 
They  never  top  the  plants,  though  they  sometimes  rise 
to  the  height  of  ten  feet. 

As  to  gums,  there  are  none  of  great  value  on  the 
western  coast  ;  but  in  some  places  there  arc  considera- 
ble quantities  of  copal,  and  the  Mendi  county  is  said 
to  afford  a  kind  of  India  rubber,  which  is  superior  to 
any  other  known.  It  exudes  from  a  large  vine,  or  climb- 
er, and  is  thought  to  be  abundant,  though  it  has  not 
yet  been  introduced  into  commerce.*  Yoruba,  and 
perhaps  Liberia,  produces  a  kind  of  black  gum  or  wax, 
which  becomes  hard  like  wood,  and  is  superior  to  any 
thing  else  for  stopping  leaks  in  canoes.    A  roof  or 


0  Considerable  quantities  of  another  quality  have  been  exported  from 
Gaboon  river. 


54 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


coating  of  this  material  would  be  very  durable  and 
effectual. 

Western  Africa  has  several  seeds  and  nuts,  which  are 
valuable  for  oil.  The  common  guber  or  ground  pea,  er- 
roneously called  a  nut  by  some,  is  largely  exported  from 
some  parts  of  the  coast  to  France  and  England,  where 
it  is  us-ed  to  make  the  "  fine  salad  oil,"  of  the  shops. 
This  traffic  has  caused  a  great  increase  in  the  industry 
of  the  natives  of  Bullom  and  other  countries  further 
north,  but  the  benefit  has  not  yet  extended  to  Liberia. 
There  is  another  species  of  it,  without  oil,  but  good  for 
food  and  for  feeding  stock. 

The  telfaria,  which  is  common  in  Yoruba,  as  on  the 
eastern  coast,  would  grow  equally  well  in  Liberia. 
This  vigorous  plant  runs  profusely  over  the  tops  of  low 
trees,  and  bears  numerous  gourds  or  melons  from  one  to 
two  feet  in  length,  which  are  crammed  full  of  oily  seeds 
as  large  as  the  end  of  a  man's  thumb.  This  is  doubtless 
a  valuable  plant. 

The  castor  oil  plant,  though  not  indigenous  as  some 
have  affirmed,  is  frequently  seen  in  cultivated  places, 
and  grows  so  well,  that  Liberia  might  supply  all 
America  with  the  oil.  The  physic  nut  (curcas  pur- 
gans)  produces  a  good  lamp  oil,  and  the  seeds  have 
been  exported  to  France  for  this  purpose.  A  valuable 
oil  is  obtained  from  the  seed  of  the  bent  plant,  or  sesame. 
The  Yorubas  make  large  quantities  of  very  fine  whole- 
some oil  from  the  seeds  of  the  water  melon,  which  is 
called  in  America  the  citron  melon. 

But  the  great  oil  producer  of  Africa,  is  the  oil  palm, 
which  abounds  on  the  coast,  and  is  found  occasionally 
on  the  rivers,  as  far  in  the  interior  as  Kanike  or  Burnu. 


SOIL  A^D  PRODUCTIONS  OF  LIBERIA. 


55 


These  trees  grow  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  in  height, 
and  resemble  the  date  palm,  but  the  leaves  are  of  a 
brighter  green  color.  The  yellow  palm  oil  of  commerce 
is  made  from  the  pulp  which  surrounds  the  nut.  It  is 
much  used  in  Africa  as  a  pleasant  and  wholesome  article 
of  food.  After  removing  the  pulp  from  the  nuts,  the 
people  in  Yoruba  obtain  lamp  oil  from  the  kernels  by 
roasting,  pounding,  and  pressing.  Palm  oil,  like  cot- 
ton and  tobacco,  is  destined  to  be  an  important  item  in 
the  world's  commerce  ;  for  the  demand  and  the  supply 
are  equally  inexhaustible.  This  alone  will  be  a  source 
of  perpetual  revenue,  especially  to  Liberia,  and  to  the 
nations  on  the  Bight  of  Benin,  where  the  palm  tree  is 
most  luxuriant. 

The  palm  tree  loves  moisture,  and  will  not  flourish  on 
the  dry  uplands  of  the  interior.  The  soil  about  Ilorrin 
is  productive,  but  there  are  no  palms  within  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  of  the  town.  Where  the  palm  fails  from 
change  of  climate,  its  place  is  immediately  supplied  by 
the  butter  tree,  the  large  nuts  of  which  produce  a  whitish, 
and  slightly  aromatic  oil,  which  is  about  as  hard  as 
butter.  This  oil  is  used  in  cooking  and  for  lamps,  and 
is  said  to  be  a  valuable  ointment  for  painful  joints.  In 
Liberia,  the  forests  where  the  palms  are  always  found, 
extend  further  than  usual  from  the  coast.  It  is  pro- 
bable there  are  no  butter  trees  within  one  hundred  or 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Monrovia.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  to  be  regretted,  since  the  palm  tree  is  the 
more  valuable  of  the  two. 


56 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 

COLONIZATION  OPPOSED — ITS  AIMS  —  FUTURE  EMIGRATION  OF  AMERICAN 
BLACKS  —  THE  NATIVES  WILL  BE  CIVILIZED  —  IMPROV ABILITY  OF  MAN 
—  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS  OF  CIVILIZATION — THE  PRESENT  CONDITION 
OF  AFRICA. 

Both  in  Europe  and  America  there  is  a  great  diversity 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  ultimate  success  of  African 
colonization.  Many  abolitionists  regard  the  whole 
scheme  as  a  dishonest  device  of  slaveholders  to  rid 
their  country  of  troublesome  free  negroes;  and  they 
predict  that  the  crushing  of  the  slaveholding  power,  for 
which  they  are  laboring  with  confidence,  will  crush 
Liberia  and  African  missions  as  an  offshoot  of  coloniza- 
tion; so  that  the  waves  of  barbarism  will  flow  back 
upon  the  African  continent  as  in  former  ages.  Some 
slaveholders  look  upon  Liberia  with  a  jealous  eye  for 
other  reasons.  The  existence  of  a  great  negro  republic, 
even  if  it  were  known  to  be  possible,  is  not  exactly  in 
accordance  with  their  taste  and  habits  of  feeling.  They 
know,  too,  that  some  friends  of  colonization  are  anti- 
slavery  men;  they  know  that  slaves  are  frequently 
liberated  and  sent  to  Liberia,  where  they  find  a  com- 
fortable home  as  citizens  of  an  independent  republic; 
and  hence  they  are  not  satisfied  as  to  what  might  be 
the  effect  of  success  on  the  minds  of  white  people  and 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 


57 


of  negroes  in  America.  The  friends  of  colonization  have 
no  fears  that  Liberia  is  to  be  obliterated  by  the  crush- 
ing of  the  slave-power,  which  of  course  would  put  a 
stop  to  emigration.  They  do  not  believe  that  the  most 
brilliant  success  would  work  any  injury  to  the  whites 
or  to  the  negroes  in  America,  but  the  contrary.  Their 
single  object  and  motive  is  to  plant  a  great  negro  na- 
tion in  Africa,  which  shall  be  a  means  of  diffusing  civi- 
lization and  Christianity  throughout  the  whole  continent: 
thus  making  an  immense  addition  to  the  moral  power 
and  commercial  wealth  of  the  world.  As  this  gigantic 
scheme  is  yet  in  the  feeblest  days  of  its  infancy,  differ- 
ences of  opinion  as  to  the  final  result  are  certainly  al- 
lowable, however  much  we  may  regret  the  unreasonable 
prejudices  which  throw  themselves  in  the  way  of  success. 
Considering  the  importance  of  the  subject,  and  my  own 
relations  to  the  African  continent,  I  cannot  permit  this 
opportunity  to  pass  without  expressing  my  opinion  as 
to  the  natural  and  probable  course  of  events  in  Liberia. 
It  is  true  that  great  and  surprising  revolutions  are  pos- 
sible, both  in  Europe  and  America,  but  it  is  not  prob- 
able that  anything  will  occur  in  either  continent  which 
will  overwhelm  African  colonization  and  its  counter- 
part, African  missions. 

Assuming,  as  we  justly  may,  that  the  affairs  of  the 
world  will  continue  to  move  on,  as  they  ever  have  done, 
through  all  their  changes,  in  obedience  to  the  moral  and 
social  forces  which  are  their  motive  power,  I  feel  au 
thorized  to  entertain  large  hopes  as  to  the  future  of  the 
colonization  scheme  now  identified  with  Liberia.  We 
may  define  the  elements  of  a  great  nation  to  be,  first,  a 
numerous,  virtuous,  and  intelligent  people;  second,  a 
3* 


58 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


wide  and  productive  territory;  and  thirdly,  a  just  and 
strong  government.  My  hopes  claim  all  these  for  the 
future  Liberia,  and  I  believe  that  these  hopes  are  author- 
ized by  existing  circumstances. 

First,  as  to  the  numerous  people;  I  look  to  America  and 
to  Africa,  to  the  emigration  of  .American  negroes,  and 
to  the  civilization  of  African  tribes. 

It  does  not  seem  unreasonable  to  expect  an  extensive 
emigration  of  American  blacks.  Free  blacks  are  al- 
ready numerous  in  the  United  States,  and  their  number 
will  naturally  and  therefore  almost  inevitably  increase. 
They  are  now  prevented  from  emigrating  by  three  caus- 
es; the  hardships  incident  to  settling  in  Liberia  as  a 
new  country,  abundance  of  food  and  employment  in 
America,  and  their  own  prejudices  against  the  cause  of 
colonization.  But  all  these  hindrances  to  emigration 
will  disappear.  As  Liberia  grows  older,  the  hardships 
incident  to  settling  in  all  new  countries  will  cease  to 
exist,  and  there  will  be  more  food  and  more  employment 
of  every  kind  for  new  comers.  This  alone  would  give  an 
impetus  to  emigration.  But  still  further,  the  abundance 
of  food  and  employment  enjoyed  by  the  free  blacks  in 
America  is  sure  to  be  diminished  sooner  or  later.  Our 
country  will  at  last  become  populous,  and  our  peasantry, 
whether  white  or  black,  must  experience  that  scarcity 
of  food  which  is  felt  by  the  peasantry  of  all  other 
populous  countries.  Then  we  must  witness  a  new  spe- 
cies of  antagonism,  the  most  uncompromising  and  ter- 
rible of  all  antagonisms,  a  strife  for  bread,  which  is  life; 
and  still  more  terrible  to  the  free  negro,  because  it  will 
be  a  conflict  of  races,  in  which  all  the  circumstances 
will  be  against  him.    Justly  or  unjustly,  in  a  struggle 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 


59 


for  food  and  for  existence,  the  white  race  will  claim 
precedence,  and  they  will  enforce  the  claim;  for  ulti- 
mate sovereignty  resides  in  the  right  arm  of  man,  and 
the  right  arm  is  powerful  in  proportion  to  the  strength 
of  the  will  and  of  the  intellect  by  which  it  is  directed. 
Even  the  slave,  being  at  once  the  property  and  the  fa- 
mily of  the  master,  must  have  precedence  over  the  free 
negro,  so  long  as  the  wants  of  the  more  numerous  white 
race  will  permit  slavery  to  exist  at  all.  I  do  not  say 
that  matters  will  ever  come  to  their  natural  extremi- 
ty, but  there  will  certainly  be  a  powerful  tendency  in 
that  direction,  so  powerful  that  the  free  negro  will  be 
obliged  to  yield,  and  to  fly  for  the  preservation  of  his 
existence.  And  whither  will  he  fly,  except  to  Africa  ? 
Then  the  land  of  his  fathers  will  be  his  land  of  promise. 
Then  the  colony  which  he  now  curses  will  be  the  bright 
star  of  his  hope.  Then  the  opponents  and  traducers  of 
African  colonization  and  African  missions  will  be  re- 
membered, but  not  honored.  The  colonizationist  fore- 
sees the  coming  storm,  and  labors,  unrequited  let  it  be, 
to  provide  a  refuge  which  shall  stand  forth  as  a  bles- 
sing to  two  races.  He  at  least  is  not  a  purblind,  self- 
worshipping  philosopher,  whose  brightest  visions  can 
not  reach  the  threshold  of  to-morrow. 

But  there  is  still  another  view  of  the  case  from  which 
we  are  led  to  expect  that  a  great  African  nation  will 
derive  its  population  in  part  from  America.  The  God 
of  all  the  earth,  without  whose  directing  providence  not 
even  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground,  has  not  located  so 
many  Africans  in  America  without  a  purpose.  The 
man  who  looks  candidly  and  reverently  upon  the  prin- 
ciples and  facts  of  divine  government,  can  see  more 


60 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


than  African  wars,  slave-ships,  and  American  planta- 
tions in  the  present  relations  of  the  white  and  black 
races.  He  can  see  millions  of  civilized  negroes  in  Amer- 
ica, better  clothed  and  fed,  and  more  virtuous  and  hap- 
py than  the  analogous  classes  of  white  people  in  some 
other  countries.  He  can  see  tens  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  evangelical  Christians,  regenerated  men 
and  women,  among  these  blacks,  redeemed  from  the 
curse  of  sin  in  consequence  of  African  slavery.  And 
finally,  he  can  see  African  colonization  and  African 
missions  arising  from  this  slavery,  and  flowing  back  as 
a  river  of  light  and  life  upon  the  African  continent. 
Perhaps  he  will  say  with  Jacob;  "  Verily  God  is  in  this 
place,  and  I  knew  it  not."  Providence  never  fails  for 
want  of  means;  and  he  will  find  the  means  to  colonize 
Africa.  At  present,  before  the  fulness  of  the  time,  he 
employs  individuals  to  plant  and  nourish  Liberia.  As 
events  roll  on,  and  the  increasing  number  of  free  ne- 
groes feel  the  necessity  of  emigration,  the  whites  will 
feel  it  also  with  more  and  more  intensity,  till  it  becomes 
a  great  national  affair.  Then  the  federal  government^ 
and  perhaps  the  legislatures  of  all  the  States,  will  vote 
annual  appropriations  to  aid  the  colored  people  in  re- 
turning to  their  original  seats.  Such  are  some  of  Li- 
beria's hopes  from  America. 

Africa,  too,  will  contribute  her  millions  of  civilized 
men.  While  the  success  of  colonization  is  yet  a  prob- 
lem, some  persons  fear  that  the  Liberians,  so  far  from 
civilizing  Africa,  will  relapse  into  barbarism.  But  none 
of  these  persons  have  considered  the  natural  and  almost 
inevitable  result  of  the  various  forces  which  are  acting 
in  and  upon  Liberia.     Neither  have  they  acquainted 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 


61 


themselves  with  the  more  tangible  argument  of  facts. 
Liberia  is  full  of  well-attended  churches  and  schools. 
Sne  has  a  good  government,  well  administered  under  of- 
ficers elected  by  the  people  from  among  themselves.  She 
is  steadily  increasing  in  prosperity,  and  in  everything 
that  pertains  to  civilization.  And  she  is  sustained  by 
numerous  and  powerful  friends  who  would  sacrifice  much, 
from  principle,  to  prevent  her  destruction. 

The  natives  around  among  the  colonists  are  barbari- 
ans, but  they  are  men,  and  are  capable  of  being  ele- 
vated by  the  same  forces  that  elevate  others.  As  before 
stated,  they  are  moving  onward  toward  civilization, 
and  this  motion,  which  is  already  beginning  to  be  re- 
markable, is  more  likely  to  be  accelerated  than  retarded. 
Some  of  the  superior  tribes,  as  the  Kroos  and  Yies,  will 
lead  the  way  and  rise  up  to  the  estate  of  citizenship  in 
the  republic.  Then  others  will  follow,  and  yet  others 
more  and  more  remote  from  the  coast,  and  who  shall  say, 
Thus  far  the  influence  shall  go  and  no  further  ? 

But  we  are  met  by  the  objection  that  the  Africans  are 
mentally  and  morally  incapable  of  civilization.  I  have 
sometimes  expressed  the  opinion,  that  while  opponents 
are  perplexing  this  question  by  vain  arguments,  there 
are  other  men  who  will  solve  the  problem  by  doing  the 
work.  Yet  it  is  a  problem  at  present,  and  our  efforts  to 
civilize  Africa  may  fail.  Of  this,  however,  I  have  no 
serious  fears,  provided  the  nations  of  the  earth  will 
keep  sufficiently  quiet  to  permit  the  continuance  of  our 
labors.  Let  it  be  granted  that  the  dark  races  are  consti- 
tutionally inferior  to  the  white  ;  and  again,  that  educa- 
tion, however  long  continued  in  successive  generations, 
cannot  improve  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  or  the  in- 


62 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


nate  faculties  of  a  race,*  still  the  believers  in  a  future 
African  civilization,  cannot  act  so  absurdly  as  not  to 
fall  back  on  the  following  admitted  truths  : 

L  That  man  is  everywhere  capable  of  improvement. 
The  most  enlightened  races  were  once  barbarians,  as 
the  Greeks,  Germans,  French  and  English;  and  the  most 
degraded  races,  as  the  Hottentots  and  the  negroes  of 
Guinea,  are  now  making  advances  toward  civilization. 
At  Freetown,  Elmina,  Cape  Coast  Castle  and  Akra,  the 
natives  are  so  much  improved  that  they  dress  respect- 
ably, and  live  in  comfortable  stone  houses.  The  natives 
at  any  other  point  on  the  coast,  or  in  the  interior,  are 
equally  capable  of  being  improved. 

2.  The  limit  of  man's  improvability  has  never  been 
ascertained.  I  can  easily  conceive  that  England  and 
America  might  be  now  considered  almost  barbarous, 
compared  with  the  highest  moral,  intellectual  and  social 
excellence  of  which  a  nation  of  our  own  race  is  capa- 
ble. We  may  admit,  and  I  think  justly,  that  the  ne- 
groes will  never  be  equal  to  the  whites,  where  the  two 
races  enjoy  equal  opportunities  ;  for  the  white  race, 
everywhere,  under  all  circumstances,  is  endowed  with 
characteristics  which  are  not  found  in  the  negroes,  or  in 
any  other  dark  race.  But  this  does  not  require  us  to 
conclude  that  the  negro  any  more  than  the  white  man 
has  reached  his  maximum  of  improvement.  There  might 
be  negro  nations  fully  as  much  civilized  as  we  are  at 
present,  and  there  might  at  the  same  time  be  white  na- 
tions as  barbarous  as  the  ancient  Germans. 


*  This  has  never  been  proved,  and  it  is  certainly  opposed  by  numer 
our  facts. 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA. 


63 


Our  own  civilization  is  not  purely  the  result  of  our  own 
superior  moral  and  intellectual  powers.  America,  Eng- 
land, Germany,  etc.,  depended  for  their  civilization  on 
Greece  and  Rome  ;  Greece  and  Rome  derived  theirs 
from  the  valleys  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile  ;  and 
Egypt  and  Assyria  were  civilized  of  necessity,  for  the 
reason  that  millions  of  people  were  crowded  together  in 
fertile  valleys  surrounded  by  extensive  deserts.  The 
physical  geography  of  the  globe  has  been  the  great  civ- 
ilizer  of  man.  If  the  deserts  of  Asia  and  Africa  had 
not  existed,  and  if  there  had  been  no  Mediterranean  sea, 
and  no  gloomy  forests  and  rugged  mountains  on  the 
north  of  the  Grecian  and  Italian  peninsulas,  the  civil- 
ized kingdoms  of  Europe  and  the  grand  republic  of 
North  America  could  not  have  existed.*  On  the  other 
hand,  physical  geography  has  blighted  Africa  with  the 
curse  of  barbarism.  Her  immense  northern  deserts 
arose  as  an  impassable  barrier  to  that  current  of  east- 
ern civilization  which  has  overflowed  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica ;  her  climate  has  precluded  the  possibility  of  exten- 
sive conquest  by  Europeans,  and  her  wide  fertile  inte- 
rior has  given  unbounded  scope  to  that  barbarism  which 
requires  nothing  but  food  and  animal  gratification. 

Still  further,  the  physical  geography  of  the  globe  has 
established  the  civilization  which  it  called  into  existence. 
Europe  could  not  soon,  if  ever,  have  originated  civiliza- 


*  The  Manclms,  a  white  race,  who  civilized  China,  were  themselves 
driven  into  civilization  by  their  position  on  fertile  spots  in  the  Great 
Asiatic  Desert.  Want  of  room  to  expand  by  emigration  forced  the 
Manchu  civilization  upon  the  prolific  Mongolians  of  China,  a  race 
of  men  who  probably  have  never  made  any  great  discovery  or  inven- 
tion. 


64 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


tion,  but  no  part  of  the  globe  was  so  well  adapted  to 
receive  it,  as  it  existed,  when  it  was  growing  old,  and 
.was  likely  to  die  a  natural  death  in  Egypt  and  Assyria. 
Europe,  herself  divided  by  seas  and  mountains,  perpetu- 
ally shaken  by  the  conflicts  of  races,  and  crushed  by  a 
weight  of  abominable  antiquities,  could  never  have 
developed  and  perfected  the  civilization  which  she  had 
received  and  preserved.  America  was  discovered  just 
in  the  right  time  to  save  Europe  and  the  world,  just  at 
a  time  when  it  was  demanded  by  the  conflict  of  opinions, 
feelings  and  interests,  which  then,  as  now,  was  sub- 
stantially a  conflict  of  different  European  races.  More 
than  a  thousand  years  of  successive  conquests  running 
and  returning  in  all  directions  throughout  Europe,  had 
scattered  all  races  through  all  countries.  But  the  fea- 
tures, feelings  and  habits  of  different  families  in  al- 
most every  town,  showed  that  the  old  races,  though 
mechanically  intermixed,  were  not  to  a  great  extent  che- 
mically blended.  In  other  parts  of  Europe  no  less  than 
in  England,  there  was  a  class  of  men  of  similar  fea- 
tures and  character  because  they  belonged  to  the  same 
ethnical  family,  who  were  distinguished  by  an  intense 
feeling  of  personal  independence,  which  revealed  itself 
in  a  demand  for  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Similarity 
of  feeling  and  character  led  thousands  of  this  race  to 
America,*  where  the  physical  geography  of  a  vast 


*  There  are  many  Americans  of  other  races,  and  accordingly  they 
have  other  countenances  and  other  feelings.  It  is  not  climate  and 
circumstances  which  have  given  a  national  face  and  character  to  the 
American  people.  They  are  more  nearly  an  original  ethnical  race 
than  most  other  white  nations,  and  hence  the  national  features  and 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  LIBERIA.  35 

region  almost  necessitates  the  existence  of  a  nation  of 
greater  integral  extent,  and  more  powerful  in  the  con- 
trol of  mankind  in  general,  than  any  nation  that  ever 
has  existed  or  ever  can  exist  while  the  seas,  continents, 
deserts,  mountains  and  rivers  of  the  globe  retain  their 
present  form. 

To  this  nation,  the  appointed  arbiter  of  earth,  God  has 
brought  the  barbarous  negro  race,  and  from  this  coun- 
try he  is  leading  them  back,  civilized  and  christianized, 
to  Africa.  In  the  mean  time,  African  barbarism  has 
run  its  course,  and  is  growing  old  and  decrepid.  The 
savage  exuberance  of  the  soil  has  passed  away,  and 
the  character  of  the  people  has  necessarily  changed. 
Almost  every  where  they  are  congregated  in  towns, 
some  of  which  are  of  immense  size.  Throughout  half 
the  continent,  they  are  civilized  on  their  own  basis,  to 
a  degree  which  surprises  every  one  who  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact.  They  cannot  retrograde  now, 
for  that  would  be  contrary  to  the  geographical,  moral 
and  social  causes  which  are  moving  them  forward.  Just 
at  this  time,  precisely  when  needed,  precisely  when  the 
people  see  their  necessities  and  long  for  assistance,  the 
allied  causes  of  African  colonization  and  African  mis- 
sions, backed  by  America,  by  Christendom,  and  by  the 
irresistible  demands  of  modern  commerce,  pledge  them- 
selves to  the  redemption  of  Africa.  Now  we  look  again 
at  the  physical  geography  of  that  continent.  Her  first 
condition  of  isolation  and  savage  fertility,  inevitably 
produced  its  result,  but  these  circumstances  are  gone 


national  character  which  exist  every  where,  and  has  ever  existed  since 
the  States  were  colonies. 


66 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


forever,  beyond  the  possibility  of  restoration.  Steam 
unites  her  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  four  thousand 
years  of  cultivation  have  effectually  denuded  her  of 
forests.*  The  next  condition  of  her  physical  geography 
to  be  noticed,  is  seen  in  her  great  rivers,  piercing  to  the 
heart  of  the  continent,  and  in  the  immense  undulating 
plains,  whose  innumerable  streams  and  fertile  soil,  in- 
fallibly indicate  the  uses  of  her  great  rivers. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  feeble  Liberia,  and  ask  if  there  is 
not  hope  ?  Where  shall  we  fix  her  future  boundary  ? 
In  this  case,  the  extensive  fertile  territory,  which  is  one 
condition  of  her  greatness,  is  so  extensive  that  we  can 
not  venture  to  claim  a  fourth  part  of  it  even  for  a  great 
nation.  As  to  the  just  and  strong  government  which  is 
necessary  to  her  success,  we  have  no  reason  to  fear. 
She  has  begun  well  by  modeling  her  government  after 
the  great  exemplar  for  the  nations,  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States.  When  despotism  shall  have  perished 
in  Europe,  which  it  is  sure  to  do,  we  need  not  fear  its 
existence  in  our  own  Liberia.  That  African  coloniza- 
tion and  missions  may  meet  with  reverses,  or  at  least 
with  serious  difficulties,  as  all  human  affairs  must  do,  I 
freely  admit,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  their  perpetuation 
and  their  ultimate  triumph  are  guaranteed  by  moral  and 
social  causes,  which  are  as  irresistible  as  the  physical 
laws  of  nature. 


*  The  forests  of  Guinea  are  a  small  portion  of  the  continent ;  the 
rest  is  prairie,  the  result  of  cultivation. 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


67 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TRAVELS  IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  THE  GOLAHS,  IN  1850. 

DEPARTURE  TO  GOLAH  —  AFRICAN  SINGING  —  A  MANGROVE  SWAMP  —  NEW 

GEORGIA — ST.  PAUL'S  RIVER  —  NAVIGATION  THE  BUSH  —  ROADS  — 

PINE    APPLES  AFRICAN    WATER — NAKED    NEGROES  —  VONZWAW  

STREETS  —  PALAVER    HOUSE  —  HINDRANCES  —  PREACHING  —  TRAFFIC 

—  CURRENCY  —  SALT  —  GAMING  —  AN  AFFRAY  —  MUSIC  —  A  "  HALF 
TOWN        SMALL  POX  — VILLAGES  —  SOIL  —  SUWY —  MILL  SEATS  — WAR 

—  FORESTS  —  WILD    ANIMALS  —  A    TRIBAL     BURYING    GROUND  A 

FINE  COUNTRY  —  GEBBY  —  AN  AFFRAY  —  TAZZUA — SAMA  A  COVET- 
OUS KING  —  MR.  GOODALE7S  DEATH  —  THE  PEOPLE  OF  SAMA  —  GODIRI 

—  BOONDA        MANDINGO  —  MAHOMETANS  —  A     LAW     SUIT  —  RETURN 

TO  MONROVIA. 

Soon  after  landing  at  Monrovia,  we  were  told  of  Bo 
Pora,  a  large  Golah  town,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  the  interior,  governed  by  a  civilized  native,  called 
King  Boatswain,  who  had  wished  for  missionaries  to 
come  and  teach  his  people.  Mr.  Goodale  was  anxious 
to  visit  this  town,  believing  that  a  mission  there  might 
be  more  useful  than  in  Central  Africa,  which  was  too 
distant  to  communicate  with  Liberia,  and  perhaps  not 
more  healthy  than  Bo  Pora.  My  own  intention  had 
been  to  study  the  Puloh  or  Fellatah  language,  as  spo- 
ken on  the  Niger.  Should  the  Gospel  be  established 
among  these  people,  who  are  known  to  be  the  most  in- 
telligent and  energetic  tribe  south  of  the  Desert,  they 
might  become  active  missionaries,  and  subdue  more 
nations  by  the  Word,  than  they  have  by  the  sword.  It 


68 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


seemed  better  to  visit  Sierra  Leone  in  search  of  Puloh 
interpreters,  than  to  penetrate  the  Golah  bush,  where 
we  should  find  no  natives  superior  to  those  on  the  coast, 
whom  we  had  already  determined  to  pass  by,  for  the 
purpose  of  preaching  to  the  more  civilized  people  of 
Sudan.  I  was  assured,  however,  that  we  should  find 
Pulohs  at  Bo  Pora;  and  that  we  might  pass  on,  if  we 
pleased,  by  a  much  frequented  route  from  Bo  Pora  to 
the  Niger.  These  considerations,  together  with  my  re- 
luctance to  let  Mr.  Goodale  go  alone  before  he  was  ac- 
climated, induced  me  to  visit  the  country  of  the  Golahs. 
If  not  satisfied  with  Bo  Pora  or  the  country  beyond  it,  I 
would  return  in  the  fall,  and  Mr.  Goodale  would  proba- 
bly pursue  the  same  course. 

Prudence  might  have  dictated  that  we  should  remain 
at  the  Cape  (as  they  call  Monrovia),  till  we  had  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  acclimation,  but  we  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  fever  would  be  more  dangerous  at  Bo 
Pora  than  here;  and  it  seemed  preferable  to  prosecute 
our  labors  as  long  as  our  health  should  continue.  We 
accordingly  resolved  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  in- 
terior, and  since  no  horses  could  be  purchased  in  Libe- 
ria, we  were  content  to  perform  the  journey  on  foot. 

Five  days  after  landing  at  Monrovia,  we  departed  in 
high  spirits  for  Bo  Pora,  happily  ignorant  of  the  future. 
Our  course  lay  up  Stockton  Creek,  eight  miles  to  the 
St.  Paul's  river.  Soon  after  leaving  the  wharf,  we  were 
amused  by  an  animated  race  between  our  boat  and  a 
canoe.  The  rowers  sang  lustily  all  the  time,  precisely 
in  the  same  tone  and  manner  that  is  common  among 
our  southern  negroes  around  the  corn  pile.  The  corn 
song  was  imported  from  Guinea. 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


69 


A  mile  or  two  from  Monrovia,  we  entered  a  dismal 
mangrove  swamp,  which  emits  sickening  odors.  The 
mangrove  never  grows  in  places  which  are  not  visited 
occasionally  by  salt  water.  It  is  said  to  afford  ex- 
cellent fire  wood,  and  the  bark  is  valuable  for  tanning. 
In  some  places  we  observed  slender  hedges  of  palm 
leaves  running  along  the  margin  of  the  creek,  to  entrap 
the  fish  when  the  tide  rises. 

On  the  right  bank  of  the  creek,  about  five  miles  from 
Monrovia,  is  a  neat  village  called  New  Georgia,  prin- 
cipally inhabited  by  Congoes,  and  other  natives  re-cap- 
tured from  slave-ships.  The  place  has  every  appearance 
of  being  extremely  sickly,  and  I  was  told  that  most  of 
the  first  settlers  were  dead,  though  the  young  people 
born  there  enjoyed  good  health.  There  was  no  reason 
in  selecting  this  place  for  a  settlement,  when  the 
country  abounds  in  elevated,  dry,  and  healthy  situa- 
tions. 

We  found  the  St.  PauPs  a  majestic  river,  flowing  in  a 
strong  current  of  yellow  water,  about  eight  hundred 
yards  wide.  Several  black  rocks  arose  here  and  there, 
in  the  stream,  as  if  they  would  say,  "  no  navigation." 
Unfortunately  none  of  the  rivers  in  Liberia  are  navi- 
gable for  more  than  thirty  or  forty  miles.  I  think,  how- 
ever, that  an  occasional  short  canal  at  the  rapids,  would 
render  the  St.  Paul's  navigable  far  into  the  interior;  and 
the  day  will  come  when  such  canals  will  be  required 
and  opened  to  relieve  this  country  of  its  surplus  pro- 
duce. We  rowed  across  the  river  into  a  little  cove, 
whence  we  ascended  the  bank  to  a  very  extensive  plain, 
which  is  never  overflowed.  Here  we  met  with  a  colon- 
ist who  informed  us  that  old  King  Boatswain  was  dead, 


70 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


arid  that  Lansanna,  his  successor,  had  removed  the  seat 
of  government  from  Bo  Pora  to  Sama,  six  miles  nearer 
Monrovia. 

From  our  landing-place  to  a  Dey  village  called  Vonz- 
waw,  we  had  a  walk  of  five  miles  through  "the  bush," 
along  a  path  as  rugged  and  tortuous  as  the  ways  of 
the  stupid  natives  who  made  it.  To  have  bought  an 
ass  at  Monrovia,  as  I  intended  to  have  done,  if  he  had 
been  three  feet  high,  would  have  been  entirely  useless, 
for  nobody  could  ride  in  such  a  path  as  this.  I  permit- 
ted the  party  to  pass  on  before  me,  that  I  might  enjoy 
a  solitary. stroll  in  the  first  African  forest  I  had  ever 
entered.  In  addition  to  the  impenetrable  jungle  of  trees, 
vines  and  bushes,  the  ground  in  many  places  was  com- 
pletely coated  with  the  rough  swordlike  leaves  of  the 
pine  apple.  Not  a  breath  of  air  mitigated  the  over- 
powering heat,  though  the  sea-breeze  was  sporting 
with  the  rustling  leaves  in  the  tree  tops  above  me.  I 
was  soon  bathed  in  perspiration,  and  disagreeably 
thirsty.  After  passing  the  dry  beds  of  several  brooks, 
I  at  last  arrived  at  a  clear  stream,  in  which  the  water 
was  so  warm  as  to  be  almost  loathsome.  There  is  no 
cool  water  in  Africa.  About  a  mile  from  the  village,  I 
met  several  specimens  of  "  the  naked  negro  panting  on 
the  line,"  of  whom  we  have  read  with  so  much  interest 
in  childhood.  Their  dress  was  a  breech-cloth,  and  they 
were  armed  with  bows  and  spears,  which  are  seldom 
absent  from  the  hands  of  men  in  this  savage  country. 
No  one  knows  here  at  what  turn  of  the  path  he  may 
meet  with  a  hungry  leopard,  or  a  boa  constrictor  twenty 
feet  in  length.  A  little  further  on,  I  heard  some  people 
singing  merrily  at  their  work  in  a  farm,  which  approach- 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


71 


ed  within  a  few  yards  of  the  road,  but  was  scarcely 
visible,  owing  to  the  density  of  "the  bush." 

Yonzwaw,  the  first  native  town  we  had  seen,  con- 
sisted of  perhaps  one  hundred  circular  huts,  built  of 
upright  poles,  plastered  with  mud  and  thatched  with 
palm  leaf.  The  bush,  thick  as  a  jungle,  though  the  land 
is  everywhere  firm  and  dry,  hugged  it  about  on  all  sides 
close  up  to  the  houses.  The  streets  were  nothing  but 
very  narrow  alleys,  running  at  random  in  all  directions, 
and  intersecting  at  every  possible  angle.  By  some 
means  I  reached  the  "palaver  house,"  a  cleanly  swept 
open  shed,  where  disputes  are  settled  ;  and  here  I  found 
Mr.  Goodale  conversing  with  Kyboka,  the  chief,  who 
spoke  rather  good  English. 

According  to  custom  in  every  part  of  Africa,  it  is  not 
allowable  for  a  white  man  to  visit  any  town  or  country 
without  sending  messengers  to  obtain  permission  of  the 
chief.  This  custom  may  be  disagreeable  to  the  impa- 
tient traveler,  but  no  one  should  disregard  it ;  for  if 
you  intrude  yourself  into  a  country  without  an  invita- 
tion, you  may  be  treated  as  an  intruder ;  but  if  you 
send  to  the  king  and  he  invites  you  to  come,  you  are 
then  "  the  king's  stranger,"  and  both  he  and  his  people 
are  bound  by  the  sacred  laws  of  hospitality,  to  treat 
you  with  courtesy.  In  our  case,  ignorance  of  African 
usages  might  have  permitted  us  to  visit  Lansanna  with- 
out invitation,  and  I  suspect  that  the  consequences 
might  have  been  disastrous  ;  but  we  found  it  impossible 
to  employ  "carriers"  or  luggage-bearers  at  Yonzwaw, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  send  forward,  not  only  for  per- 
mission to  come,  but  for  men  to  carry  our  baggage.  This 
detained  us  at  Vonzwaw  seventeen  days. 


72 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Mr.  Goodale,  who  was  full  of  zeal,  returned  to  Mon- 
rovia to  preach  on  Sunday,  while  I  remained  in  the 
village  and  delivered  my  first  message  to  the  heathens 
of  Africa.  Only  one  woman  was  present.  The  half- 
naked  men  sat  around  with  their  swords,  bows  and 
spears  in  their  hands,  and  paid  good  attention  to  my  in- 
terpreter. On  the  following  Sunday  we  both  preached 
to  a  congregation  of  Deys,  Vies  and  Mandingoes,  and 
other  strangers  from  the  interior. 

Vonzwaw  is  a  considerable  resort  of  traders  from 
Sama,  Bo  Pora,  and  other  places,  who  bring  down  ivory, 
cam  wood,  rice,  palm  oil,  country  cloths,  cows  and 
ponies,  and  sometimes  a  little  gold,  to  barter  with  the 
colonists  for  calico,  rum,  tobacco,  salt,  and  other  ar- 
ticles for  the  interior  markets.  An  ox  or  a  cow  (both 
of  which  are  called  bullocks*  on  the  coast,)  was  worth 
from  eight  to  ten  dollars,  and  a  horse  about  sixty  dol- 
lars. On  this  part  of  the  coast  the  natives  have  no 
currency,  not  even  cowries  ;  but  I  am  told  that  small 
iron  bars  are  used  by  the  Mendi  tribe,  and  some  others 
a  few  days'  journey  further  to  the  windward. f  We 
procured  fowls  and  rice  from  the  natives  for  calico, 
cotton  handkerchiefs  and  leaf  tobacco.  The  negroes  on 
the  coast  manufacture  salt  by  boiling  sea  water,  and 
put  it  up  in  slender  cases  of  palm  leaves,  which  are 


*  Last  year  a  traveler  was  presented  with  some  milk  by  a  native, 
who  declared  it  was  "  bullock  milk  for  true." 

t  Iron  money  is  used  in  Kanike  (Burnu),  and  the  late  expedition  up 
the  Chadda  or  Benue,  found  people  whose  currency  consisted  of  dimin- 
utive iron  hoes.  Cowries,  very  neatly  made  of  gold,  have  been  found 
in  the  Egyptian  tombs,  and  they,  like  the  real  shells,  may  have  been 
money. 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


73 


called  sticks  of  salt.  Slaves,  bullocks,  horses,  and  other 
costly  chattels,  are  valued  at  so  many  sticks,  so  that 
salt  is  a  kind  of  currency. 

In  the  better  regulated  country  of  Yoruba,  gaming  is 
said  to  be  prohibited  by  law ;  but  no  such  restriction 
is  known  among  the  barbarians  on  St.  Paul's  river. 
One  day  the  chief,  Kyboka,  and  a  Mandingo  played 
very  freely  by  casting  five  cowries  from  the  hand — the 
probable  original  of  "five  corns. "  The  chief  was  loser, 
and  I  was  told  that  he  finally  staked  his  young  and 
favorite  wife.  Had  the  Mandingo  won  her,  it  is  likely 
enough  that  he  would  have  lived  with  her  for  a  few 
weeks  or  months,  and  then  have  exchanged  her  for 
a  couple  of  bullocks  or  a  lot  of  rice.  But  the  same 
man  would  have  suffered  severe  hunger,  as  I  once  knew 
a  Mahometan  to  do,  before  he  would  have  eaten  meat 
that  had  been  butchered  by  a  heathen.  The  whites  are 
not  the  only  people  who  can  strain  out  a  gnat  and  swal- 
low a  camel. 

During  our  stay  at  Vonzwaw,  the  traders  from  the 
interior  got  up  a  grand  affray  with  the  villagers.  No 
weapons  were  used,  and  the  negroes  are  ignorant  of 
boxing ;  but  the  combatants  kicked  and  jerked  each 
other  about,  with  a  great  uproar,  till  the  towns-people 
thought  they  were  beaten,  and  took  refuge  in  their 
houses.  A  runner  was  despatched  for  Kyboka,  who 
was  five  miles  distant  at  the  beach,  superintending  his 
salt  boilers.  On  his  arrival,  he  stormed  and  blustered 
as  if  greatly  offended,  saying  that  such  conduct  would 
spoil  the  name  of  his  town.  After  slipping  into  the 
bush  for  a  draught  of  wine  at  the  palm  trees,*  he  sat 


*  The  best  palm  wine  is  the  juice  of  the  tree,  from  the  nuts  of 

4 


74 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


down  in  the  palaver  house  and  called  the  offenders  be- 
fore him.  Each  party  was  fined  thirty  sticks  of  salt, 
and  the  strangers  were  forbidden  to  gather  any  more 
palm  nuts  in  the  vicinity  of  Yonzwaw.  I  suspected 
that  he  had  been  meditating  this  prohibition  before,  for 
the  protection  of  home  industry,  and  was  not  sorry  to 
find  a  good  excuse  for  enforcing  it. 

About  the  1st  of  March,  our  carriers  arrived  from 
Sam  a,  and  entered  the  village  with  a  grand  flourish 
of  music,  performed  on  drums  and  cows7  horns.  The 
party  consisted  of  about  thirty  men,  clad  in  breech- 
cloths,  excepting  two  or  three  leaders,  who  wore  the 
patrician  dress  of  an  African  shirt  without  sleeves. 
They  brought  us  a  sheep  as  a  present  from  the  king, 
which  we  butchered  and  distributed,  to  the  great  satis- 
faction of  all  concerned.  We  now  ascertained  that 
Sama  is  only  four  days'  journey,  instead  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  from  Monrovia  ;  but  we  found  the 
marches  rather  long,  and  judged  that  the  whole  dis- 
tance is  eighty-five  miles.  The  average  of  courses  ap- 
peared to  be  N.  N.  E. ;  and  w^e  learned  that  Sama  is 
nearer  to  Grand  Cape  Mount,  than  to  Monrovia.  The 
whole  way  lies  through  the  bush,  which  they  told  us  ex- 
tended to  the  Boonda  country,  five  days  (one  hundred 
miles)  further,  where  it  gives  place  to  grassy  plains  or 
prairies.  Thence  the  natives  are  acquainted  with  sev- 
eral countries,  as  far  north  as  to  Sangarro. 

On  the  3d  of  March  we  bid  a  joyful  adieu  to  Vonzwaw, 


which  they  make  oil.  Another  species  of  palm,  erroneously  called 
bamboo,  in  English,  yields  stronger  wine,  but  inferior  in  flavor.  The 
color  of  palm  wine  resembles  that  of  milky  water. 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


75 


and  plunged  into  the  bush,  when  to  return  we  could 
scarcely  conjecture.  Half  a  mile  brought  us  to  a  cluster 
of  shabby  hnts;  which  Bey  nib  a,  the  king's  interpreter, 
informed  us  was  a  "half  town/7  (dependent  village)  of 
Vonzwaw.  In  one  of  the  huts  which  stood  apart  from 
the  rest,  there  was  a  woman  who  was  sick  with 
small  pox,  a  disease  which  is  much  more  feared  in 
this  country  than  in  Yoruba.  Four  miles  further  (by 
our  time  and  supposed  rate,)  brought  us  to  a  minute 
Dey  village,  called  Quypo,  which  might  or  might  not 
boast  a  population  of  twenty  souls.  The  agricultural 
resources  of  the  place,  so  far  as  visible,  consisted  of  a 
few  stalks  of  red  pepper,  inferior  to  none  in  the  world. 
Seven  miles  more,  still  through  a  houseless  and  farm- 
less  forest,  brought  us  to  a  Golah  town  twice  as  large 
as  Quypo,  which  they  told  us  was  Boomba.  Here  was 
a  farm  of  perhaps  twenty  acres.  On  descending  the  hill 
from  Boomba,  we  discovered  a  beautiful  sandy  stream 
thirty  feet  wide  ;  and  from  this  place  forward  the  streams, 
hitherto  sluggish  and  weedy,  are  clear  and  rapid.  The 
bush,  also,  was  not  quite  so  dense,  and  the  soil,  though 
equally  fertile,  was  more  sandy,  and  thus  better  adap- 
ted to  cultivation.  After  walking  eleven  miles  further, 
we  arrived  at  a  Golah  town,  named  Suwy,  which  we 
thought  was  rather  larger  than  Yonzwaw,  and  by  this 
time  it  was  night.  The  fertile  country  about  Suwy 
abounds  in  fine  timber,  and  during  the  two  days  which 
we  rested  there,  I  saw  several  fine  mill-seats  on  the 
bold  rocky  stream  which  flows  by  the  town.  This  was 
the  driest  part  of  the  year. 

Some  years  ago,  two  Liberians  who  had  been  sent  to 
this  town  on  a  government  message,  were  murdered. 


76 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Being  more  than  thirty  miles  from  Monrovia,  the  simple 
Golahs  supposed  that  the  colonists  would  not  venture 
to  march  through  the  bush  and  attack  them.  But  in 
this  they  were  mistaken.  Very  unexpectedly  they 
found  their  town  confronted  by  the  Liberians,  who,  in- 
stead of  yelling  and  dancing  at  a  safe  distance,  in  na- 
tive style,  assaulted  the  stockade  with  guns  and  axes, 
and  soon  laid  the  village  in  ashes.  This  prompt  un- 
African  mode  of  settling  " palavers"  affrighted  all  the 
natives  in  the  surrounding  country.  The  people  of 
Suwy  agreed  to  terms  and  rebuilt  their  town,  but  with- 
out surrounding  it  with  a  stockade,  which  they  probably 
believed  would  be  a  useless  waste  of  labor. 

After  leaving  Suwy,  we  traveled  twenty-five  miles 
through  an  unbroken  forest  to  Gebby.  The  soil  is 
rather  good,  the  trees  majestic,  and  the  country  well 
watered  by  streams  flowing  eastward  into  the  St.  PauFs. 
Beymba  told  us  frightful  tales  about  the  leopards  in 
this  forest,  which  he  said  had  eaten  fully  twenty  men 
within  the  knowledge  of  the  people.  The  other  large 
animals  are  elephants  and  a  kind  of  buffalo,  which  the 
people  of  Sierra  Leone  rather  aptly  term  "  the  jackass 
cow,"  on  account  of  its  peculiar  shape  and  long  ears. 
The  lion,  which  loves  the  sandy  borders  of  the  desert, 
is  never  seen  in  the  damp  and  dark  forests  of  Guinea. 
In  the  evening  we  were  a  considerable  time  ascending 
a  mountain  in  a  shower  of  rain.  Not  far  from  this  is  a 
high  hill,  on  the  top  of  which  they  have  long  been  ac 
customed  to  bury  the  kings  of  Golah.  At  the  northern 
foot  of  the  hill  which  we  had  just  climbed,  is  a  village 
of  three  shanties,  called  Gebby.  The  St.  Paul's  is  near 
at  hand,  and  a  stream,  thirty  feet  wide,  flows  by  the  vil- 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


77 


lage,  to  mingle  its  clear  waters  with  the  yellow  river. 
There  is  another  Gebby,  on  an  island  of  the  same  name 
in  the  river,  and  two  others,  two  and  four  miles  distant, 
on  the  Sama  road.  All  these  Gebbies  could  scarcely 
muster  a  population  of  four  hundred  souls,  and  there 
are  no  other  inhabitants  in  this  section,  though  the  land 
is  fertile,  and  the  country  appeared  to  be  the  most  pleas- 
ant of  any  we  had  yet  seen.  We  passed  on  to  the 
next  Gebby,  and  spent  the  night  in  the  hut  of  a  Goiah 
who  had  been  brought  up  at  Monrovia,  but  he  appeared 
to  be  none  the  less  a  barbarian  for  all  that.  It  is  very 
hard  for  such  a  man  to  sustain  his  slight  degree  of 
civilization  when  he  returns  to  reside  among  his  country- 
men, but  I  thought  that  he  might  at  least  have  benefited 
his  town  by  introducing  some  of  the  good  fruits  which 
he  had  loved  to  eat  in  the  colony. 

Before  bed- time,  our  carriers  raised  a  row  with  the  vil- 
lagers, in  which  one  man  was  slightly  cut  with  a  knife 
or  spear.  Our  usually  quiet  friend,  Beymba,  who  was 
a  Mahometan,  came  running  for  his  sword,  saying,  "  We 
can  beat  these  Golahs,  and  take  all  their  fowls  and 
goats."  In  former  times  the  threat  would  have  been  to 
sell  them  for  slaves  ;  but  there  is  no  slave  trade  in  and 
about  Liberia  now,  and  slaves  were  then  selling  among 
the  natives  of  the  interior  for  about  twelve  dollars  a  piece. 
Many  a  lazy  fellow  hopes  to  see  a  return  to  former 
customs  ;  and  one  said  to  me,  "  The  queen  of  England 
will  die  by  and  by,  and  then  we  shall  sell  slaves." 

We  arrived  at  Gebby  on  Saturday,  and  desired  to  re- 
main there  the  following  day,  but  our  carriers  refused 
on  account  of  last  night's  quarrel.  They  said  there  was 
a  friendly  village  not  far  off,  where  we  could  rest  and 


78 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


procure  provisions,  and  we  agreed  to  go.  After  march- 
ing twenty  miles,  through  gloomy  forests  and  over 
several  steep  rocky  hills,  we  arrived  at  Tazzua,  the 
friendly  village  which  they  pretended  was  almost  close 
at  hand.  Tazzua  consisted  of  some  half  dozen  huts,  one 
of  which  we  obtained  from  a  widow  woman  for  our- 
selves and  baggage.  Next  morning  when  I  paid  the 
bill  she  threw  her  arms  round  my  neck,  and  gave  me  a 
cordial  embrace,  as  a  substitute  for  plain  "  Thank  you." 

Monday  morning,  the  6th  of  March,  we  entered  Sama, 
amid  the  firing  of  guns,  and  the  acclamations  of  several 
hundred  people.  Pressing  through  half  naked  crowds, 
and  winding  through  intricate  alleys,  we  reached  the 
palaver  house,  where  we  were  kindly  received  by 
king  Lansanna,  who  bade  us  welcome  to  his  town,  and 
presently  furnished  us  with  a  comfortable  hut  for  our 
home.  Sama,  which  was  a  town  of  perhaps  one  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  surrounded  by  a  high  and  strong  stock- 
ade, was  situated  in  a  very  dense  bush,  on  flat,  heavy 
land,  with  a  muddy  little  stream  and  steep  mountains, 
close  by  on  the  west.  I  was  grieved  to  see  it  have  every 
appearance  of  a  very  sickly  locality. 

On  the  day  following  our  arrival  we  prepared  what 
we  considered  to  be  a  sufficient  present  to  the  king  for 
sending  his  slaves  to  bring  our  baggage  from  Vonzwaw. 
It  consisted  of  a  cheap  American  saddle,  some  uncut 
pieces  of  calico,  a  lot  of  tobacco,  and  a  few  other  arti- 
cles, amounting  in  all  to  about  forty  dollars.  He  looked 
at  the  present  with  indifference,  and,  after  some  talk 
with  his  people,  very  coolly  informed  us  that  he  must 
have  three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  goods.  We  as- 
sured him  that  everything  in  our  possession  was  not 


TKAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


79 


worth  so  much,  and  that  we  were  obliged  to  keep  our 
cloth  and  tobacco  to  purchase  food  ;  but  he  would  not 
be  satisfied,  even  in  a  grumbling  way,  without  a  large 
addition  to  our  first  offer.  This  affair,  so  briefly  describ- 
ed, cost  us  a  long  "palaver,"  or,  in  plain  words,  a  squab- 
ble, and  left  us  in  no  very  good  humor. 

We  had  brought  four  American  boys  with  us  from 
Monrovia,  as  servants  and  students.  Mr.  Goodale 
thought  best  to  begin  amission  at  this  place,  and  opened 
a  school  with  six  scholars,  including  a  Golah  boy,  who 
could  speak  English,  and  one  of  the  Yy  tribe,  who  de- 
sired to  learn.  He  also  obtained  a  grant  of  land  from 
the  king,  for  a  farm,  and  began  preparations  to  sow 
rice.  I  agreed  to  assist  him  so  long  as  I  should  remain, 
which  would  not  be  long,  for  I  found  no  Pulohs  at  Sama, 
and  nothing  remained  but  to  proceed  to  the  Niger,  or 
return  to  the  coast,  and  sail  for  Badagry.  In  the  mean- 
time, as  it  would  be  several  months  before  the  close  of 
the  rains,  I  proposed  to  study  the  Vy  language,  and  to 
preach  as  much  as  possible,  through  an  interpreter. 
Our  first  and  last  public  discourses  were  on  Sunday 
after  our  arrival  at  Sama.  Mr.  Goodale  was  taken  sick 
on  the  same  day,  and  in  spite  of  our  utmost  care  and 
attention  died  about  a  month  after.  His  zeal  continued 
unabated  to  the  last.  Not  choosing  to  bury  him  in  the 
heathen  grave-yard,  we  prepared  his  grave  under  a  tree 
on  the  Monrovia  road,  only  a  few  yards  without  the 
gate  of  the  town.  Almost  every  one  knows  what  it  is 
to  mourn  the  death  of  a  friend,  but  there  are  not  many 
who  can  fully  appreciate  the  sorrow  and  loneliness  of  a 
man  who  buries  his  beloved  and  only  companion  in  the 
wilds  of  Africa. 


80 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


I  soon  discovered  that  Lansanna  would  not  permit 
me  to  carry  any  of  my  remaining  goods  to  the  interior. 
Much  less  could  I  think  of  sending  to  Monrovia  for 
what  we  had  left  there  to  be  forwarded  if  we  should 
need  it.  I  therefore  determined  to  return  to  the  coast 
and  resume  my  journey  to  Badagry.  But  I  must  not 
dismiss  Sama  without  giving  the  reader  a  little  more- 
information. 

The  population  of  Sama  is  a  mixture  of  Golahs,  Pes- 
sies,  Vies  and  several  other  tribes.  They  live  in  circu- 
lar huts,  without  furniture  or  anything  else  that  per- 
tains to  civilization.  Their  principal  food  is  rice  and 
palaver  sauce,  made  of  herbs  and  palm  oil.  Their  do- 
mestic animals  are  goats,  sheep,  dogs  and  fowls.  Only 
the  king  has  a  few  cows.  They  plant  no  yams,  and  but 
little  corn  and  cotton,  and  have  no  fruits  except  limes 
and  plantains.  There  were  two  or  three  blacksmiths  in 
the  town  who  had  three  little  furnaces  in  the  gates, 
and  wrought  knives  and  spear  heads  on  a  stone  anvil. 
The  women  spin  cotton  on  a  distaff,  and  the  men  weave 
cloth  six  inches  wide,  in  a  little  loom,  constructed  on  the 
same  principle  as  ours.  Altogether,  the  people  are 
good-for-nothing,  contented  savages,  who  spend  most 
of  their  time  in  lounging  about,  as  if  to  eat  and  sleep 
and  talk  were  the  chief  end  of  man.  Beymba  assured 
me  that  some  of  the  tribes  further  in  the  interior  were 
still  more  degraded.  After  my  return  to  Monrovia,  some 
of  the  colonists  affirmed  that  all  the  people  in  the  coun- 
try to  which  I  had  been,  were  cannibals. 

The  Mandingoes  at  Sama,  and  especially  an  intelligent 
old  man,  who  had  been  at  London  and  Liverpool  as  a 
sailor,  told  me  several  things  about  the  interior  of  the 


TRAVELS  IN  GOLAH. 


81 


country.  Three  days'  journey  from  Sama,  the  Mandin- 
goes  have  built  a  considerable  town  called  Godiri,  which 
serves  as  a  resting  place  for  traders  as  they  pass  through 
the  barbarous  tribes  who  inhabit  the  forests.  Two  days 
further,  is  the  open  and  grassy  country  of  Boonda,  which 
supplies  horses  and  cattle  for  the  Liberia  and  Sierra 
Leone  markets.  It  is  still  four  or  five  days'  journey  to 
the  Mandingo  country,  which  lies  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  St.  Paul's  and  extends  eastward  to  the  Yolla  Ba 
(Big  River)  or  Niger.  Some  of  the  mountains  in  that 
region  are  "  higher  than  the  clouds,"  but  it  seems  that 
they  are  disposed  in  detached  groups,  and  not  in  con- 
tinuous ridges. 

All  the  interior  traders  being  Mahometans,  are  indi- 
rectly missionaries  of  the  false  prophet,  and  their  influ- 
ence is  beginning  to  be  felt  even  among  the  rude  tribes 
of  Guinea.  A  good  many  Vy  people  and  a  few  Golahs 
professed  to  be  converts  to  the  faith.  Lansanna  was  a 
native  of  the  interior,  and  though  a  residence  of  fifty- 
three  years  among  the  heathen,  had  rather  impaired  his 
devotion  to  Mahomet,  he  still  condemned  idolatry,  and 
required  his  idolatrous  subjects  to  obey  some  parts  of 
the  "  Mandingo  law,"  particularly  in  the  settlement  of 
palavers.  A  law  suit  which  occurred  at  Sama,  during 
my  stay,  may  serve  as  an  index  to  the  changes  which 
are  silently  going  on  even  here  under  the  Mandingo 
traders.  A  man  had  lent  a  slave  to  his  friend  who  was 
going  to  Vonzwaw.  As  fugitive  slaves  are  free  in  the 
colony,  the  man  thought  fit  to  run  away  and  take  refuge 
in  Monrovia.  The  action  was  brought  by  the  lender,  to 
recover  the  price  of  the  slave  from  the  borrower.  Each 
party  paid  equal  fees  in  advance.  The  case  was  tried 
4* 


82 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


by  nine  jurors,  witnesses  were  examined,  and  speeches 
made,  and  the  king,  who  sat  as  judge,  pronounced  sen- 
tence according  to  the  verdict  of  the  jury. 

The  various  difficulties  and  adventures  which  I  passed 
through  before  I  could  regain  the  coast — how  the  negroes 
appeared  determined  to  have  the  remnant  of  my  goods, 
— how  I  was  bullied  and  threatened  by  Lansanna,  and  a 
personage  called  the  Golah  king,  who  was  chief  of  all 
the  Golahs  in  Sama, — how  I  had  to  quarrel  and  almost 
fight  for  seven  days,  before  I  could  obtain  permission  to 
leave  the  town, — how  the  surly  Golahs  on  the  road 
almost  starved  me  as  I  returned  through  their  country, 
— how  I  visited  Gebby  Island,  and  found  the  eastern 
branch  of  the  river  beyond  it  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide — how  my  carriers  tore  open  my  packages  and 
robbed,  me  of  several  dozen  knives  and  my  bottle  of 
Cologne  water  ;  and  how  I  finally  arrived  at  Monrovia, 
hungry,  weary,  and  glad,  about  nine  o'clock  at  night — • 
all  this  need  not  be  related.  After  some  delay  at  Mon- 
rovia, during  which  I  visited  Grand  Cape  Mount,  and 
Gallinas  river,  I  finally  sailed  for  Cape  Coast  Castle, 
about  the  20th  of  June,  1850. 


VOYAGE  TO  BADAGRY. 


83 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VOYAGE  FROM  MONROVIA  TO  BADAGRY,  IN  1850. 

PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER  —  DEPARTURE  FROM  MONROVIA  —  FOOLISH  KROO- 
MEN  —  EL  MINA — THE  FANTEES  —  RISE  OF  THE  COAST —  GOLD  —  NUDITY 

—  IMMODESTY —  CAUSES  OF  AFRICAN  DEGRADATION  —  QUEER  MARRIAGES 

—  MULATTOES  —  CURIOUS  WEIGHTS  —  COSTUME  —  A  FUNERAL  —  CAPE 
COAST  CASTLE  —  THE  LANDING — WESLEYAN  MISSIONS  —  "  L.  E.  L."  'S 
GRAVE — -GUINEA    WORM  —  AFRICAN     HILLS  —  ROCKS  —  RISE    OF  THE 

COAST  —  DEPARTURE  FOR  BADAGRY  —  WHAT   NEGROES  NEED  MASTERS  

AKRA  GARDENS — NEGRO  VANITY  —  AGUEY  —  BADAGRY. 

The  parable  of  the  sower  may  be  applied  to  countries  ; 
for  a  whole  community  may  be  composed  of  wayside  or 
thorny-ground  hearers.  Conquest,  colonization,  or  some 
other  stringent  means,  must  be  employed  to  raise  the 
people  of  Guinea  to  humanity,  before  the  Gospel  can 
elevate  them  to  Christianity.  No  chemist  will  produce 
a  result  contrary  to  the  laws  of  matter,  and  no  mission- 
ary will  have  success  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  human 
mind.  This  is  taught  in  the  Saviour's  parable.  Some 
persons  believe  that  schools  are  the  means  to  prepare 
the  people  for  Christianity  ;  but  schools  can  not  create 
the  wants  to  drive  men  into  civilization  ;  and  they  could 
not  supply  these  wants  if  already  created.  Desires  to 
stimulate,  labor  to  supply,  and  the  strong  arm  of  law  to 
direct  and  restrain,  are  indispensable  to  the  improvement 
of  any  barbarous  nation.  If  there  had  been  no  people 
in  Africa  superior  to  those  of  Guinea,  I  might  have  been 


84 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


content  to  pass  my  days  here,  engaged  in  the  lowest 
departments  of  preparatory  labors  ;  but  when  I  knew 
that  the  intellectual  and  social  state  of  the  Central  Afri- 
cans, already  demanded  the  Gospel  and  a  higher  degree 
of  civilization,  it  appeared  to  me  unreasonable  to  neglect 
them  for  the  sake  of  premature  labors  in  Guinea.  With 
these  feelings,  I  bade  a  joyful  adieu  to  Monrovia,  and 
sailed  for  Badagry,  whence  I  expected  to  penetrate  into 
the  interior. 

As  we  sailed  with  a  light  breeze  down  the  Kroo  coast, 
three  Kroomen  boarded  us  and  hauled  their  little  canoe 
on  deck.  They  were  admonished  to  leave  the  vessel, 
because  we  should  sail  by  Cape  Palmas,  in  the  night, 
but  the  hope  of  receiving  another  drink  of  rum  next 
morning,  was  too  strong  for  their  reason,  and  they  per- 
sisted in  remaining.  At  daybreak  they  found  themselves 
fifty  miles  from  home,  on  the  coast  of  a  hostile  country. 
Although  the  captain  proposed  to  keep  them  on  board 
till  we  should  meet  another  vessel,  they  preferred  to  re- 
turn in  their  canoe,  and  were  supplied  with  bread  and 
water  for  the  voyage. 

A  short  and  pleasant  run  brought  us  to  the  town  of 
El  Mina,  (the  mine)  which  was  settled  by  the  Portu- 
guese, in  1481.  It  now  belongs  to  the  Dutch.  True  to 
the  stolid  policy  peculiar  to  themselves,  they  defend 
this  little  colony  of  ten  thousand  souls  by  two  heavy 
and  expensive  forts  or  castles,  into  one  of  which  no 
foreigner  might  enter — and  are  so  jealous  of  their 
rights,  that  missionaries  are  not  permitted  to  live  in 
El  Mina.  In  one  of  the  forts  they  had  a  large  public 
school,  in  which  the  negro  children  are  obliged  to  learn 


VOYAGE  TO  BADAGRY. 


85 


Dutch,  although  English  is  the  commercial  language  of 
the  whole  coast,  and  all  the  natives  are  anxious  to  learn 
it. 

The  Fantee  people,  who  are  the  most  civilized  of  all 
native  tribes,  live  at  El  Mina,  Cape  Coast  Castle,  and 
other  towns  in  this  region.  Even  the  houses  of  the  na- 
tives on  this  coast  are  well  built  of  stone,  and  this,  with 
the  European  residences,  and  the  extensive  castles,  pre- 
sents a  civilized  appearance  which  one  is  hardly  prepared 
to  see  in  Africa. 

El  Mina  has  no  harbor,  but  a  slight  indentation  of  the 
shore  makes  a  better  landing  place  than  is  usual  on  the 
surf-beaten  coast,  between  Freetown  and  Fernando  Po. 
Boats  enter  a  small  stream  which  comes  down  through 
the  midst  of  the  town,  and  pass  under  a  bridge  to  a  stone 
wharf.  A  broad  and  beautifully  shaded  street  runs 
eastward  from  the  wharf,  parallel  with  the  sea.  Here 
are  the  European  residences,  and  the  chief  seat  of  busi- 
ness. We  passed  along  this  street  through  swarms  of 
market  women,  and  stopped  at  a  commodious  hotel  kept 
by  a  Fantee. 

After  viewing  the  lower  castle,  which  rises  from  the 
edge  of  the  water,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  deep  ditch, 
cut  in  the  sand  stone,  I  went  up  the  beach  westward,  to 
examine  a  small  unoccupied  fortress,  which  appeared  to 
be  very  old.  The  only  door  into  the  building  is  consid- 
erably above  the  ground,  so  that  the  occupants  were 
obliged  to  enter  it  by  means  of  a  ladder.  On  a  careful 
examination  of  this  place,  I  strongly  suspected  that  the 
land  had  risen  several  feet  since  the  erection  of  the  re- 
doubt, and  I  have  since  become  convinced  that  this 
part  of  the  coast  is  still  rising.    On  the  beach,  between 


86 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


the  redoubt  and  the  town,  were  numbers  of  women,  some 
washing  gold  from  the  sand  in  the  edge  of  the  surf, 
others  bathing  and  others  walking  about  in  nature's 
simplest  attire,  perfectly  undisturbed  by  the  presence  of 
any  one  who  might  be  passing.  Scenes  like  this  are 
witnessed  on  every  part  of  the  coast  The  partially 
civilized  tribes  of  Sudan,  are  more  or  less  mixed  with 
Caucasian  blood,  and  their  modesty  is  in  exact  propor- 
tion to  the  degree  of  intermixture.  The  females  in  the 
blacker  Sudan  tribes,  are  always  clothed,  it  is  true,  but 
they  see  no  impropriety  in  leaving  the  upper  part  of  the 
body  uncovered.  The  whiter  Pulohs  are  clad  from  head 
to  foot.  The  degradation  of  the  Guinea  tribes  has  not 
resulted  from  intercourse  with  unprincipled  Europeans  ; 
for  the  same  race,  the  unmixed  negro,  is  even  more  de- 
graded in  the  centre  of  the  continent.* 

But  the  conduct  of  most  Europeans  on  the  coast,  is 
not  calculated  to  make  the  negroes  better.  At  El  Mina, 
they  introduced  me  to  a  sleek  Fantee  lassie,  as  "  the 
wife  "  of  Captain   ,  who  has  a  wife  in  Massachu- 
setts. Most  captains  or  merchants  have  one  or  more 
of  these  "  wives."  There  are  two  ways  of  marrying  in 
such  cases,  which  are  technically  termed  "  by  the  week," 
and  "  by  the  run."  A  wife  by  the  week,  is  free  at  the 
end  of  the  term.  The  latter  kind  of  wives  are  tenants 
at  will,  who  may  be  dismissed,  or  may  leave  at  any  time. 
The  mulattoes  on  this  coast  are  generally  weakly  in 
body,  and  frequently  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  the 
meanest  of  mankind.    Their  laziness  and  dishonesty,  is 


*  See  Crowther's  or  Hutchinson's  Journal  of  the  late  expedition  up 
the  Chadda. 


VOYAGE  TO  BADAGRY. 


87 


partly  the  result  of  the  manner  in  which  they  are  brought 
up,  and  partly,  perhaps,  a  heritage  from  their  white  fa- 
thers. Whether  whites,  blacks,  or  mulattoes,  the  pres- 
ent position  of  the  people  is  almost  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  Gospel.  Within  the  last  twenty  years,  two  forward 
and  self-conceited  men,  who  were  sent  from  Europe  as 
missionaries,  have  found  their  level  among  the  heathen. 

The  principal  exports  from  this  part  of  the  coast,  are 
gold  and  ivory.  Nearly  all  the  gold  is  brought  from 
mines  in  the  interior,  the  location  of  which  is  not  known. 
The  small  quantity  washed  from  the  sea  sands  on  the 
coast,  is  sold  'to  the  trade  women,  who  weigh  it  with 
little  red  seeds  instead  of  weights.  The  natives  of 
Kumasi,  make  larger  weights  of  brass.  A  set  of  these 
which  a  trader  offered  for  sale,  consisted  of  rude  little 
figures,  representing  the  industrial  pursuits  of  the  coun- 
try. One  represented  a  man  climbing  a  palm  tree,  to 
gather  the  nuts.  Another  was  a  man  carrying  a  barrel, 
perhaps  a  keg  of  powder  or  of  rum,  on  his  head. 

Nothing  attracted  my  attention  more  than  the  hair  of 
the  Fantee  women.  It  was  eight  or  ten  inches  long, 
well  moistened  with  pomatum,  procured  from  the  Dutch 
traders,  and  combed  straight,  so  as  to  have  exactly  the 
appearance  of  wool  in  samples,  ready  for  exhibition. 
Their  dress  consisted  of  a  calico  wrapper  fastened 
round  the  waist,  and  reaching  nearly  to  the  ground, 
writh  another  wrapper,  often  dispensed  with,  thrown 
over  the  shoulders.  Enormous  bustles,  which  project 
about  a  foot,  are  universal  on  the  Gold  Coast,  though  I 
have  not  seen  them  in  any  other  part  of  the  country. 

During  my  stay  at  El  Mina  I  witnessed  the  funeral  of 
a  wealthy  Dutch  mulatto.    The  corpse  was  laid  out  in 


88 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


a  large  upper  room  of  his  fine  dwelling,  and  surrounded 
by  several  women  as  chief  mourners.  About  noon,  a 
large  procession  formed  at  the  house,  and  followed  the 
corpse,  not  to  the  grave,  as  I  supposed  they  would  do, 
but  to  the  lower  castle  and  back  again.  Immediately 
behind  the  corpse  were  a  number  of  women  "  skillful  in 
weeping,"  who  kept  up  a  noisy  lamentation.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  officers  of  the  castles  and  several  others,  per- 
haps merchants,  palefaced  Dutchmen  with  long  swords 
and  red  whiskers;  and  finally  a  promiscuous  rabble  of 
men,  women  and  children,  one  among  them  bearing  a 
huge  red  umbrella,  adorned  with  fringe  or  tassels.  One 
negro  bore  an  immense  speaking  trumpet  on  his  head, 
and  another  who  walked  behind  him  applied  his  mouth 
to  the  nozzle  occasionally,  and  bawled  out  something,  I 
suppose  in  honor  of  the  deceased. 

Cape  Coast  Castle,  which  belongs  to  the  English,  is  in 
plain  view  of  El  Mina,  the  distance  being  about  nine 
miles.  The  towns  are  very  similar,  in  regard  to  houses 
and  inhabitants,  but  the  former  has  only  one  castle.  The 
landing  at  Cape  Coast  is  dangerous,  owing  to  the  vio- 
lence of  the  surf.  It  is  effected  in  large  flat-bottomed 
canoes,  well  manned  by  Fantee  rowers.  As  they  ap- 
proach the  shore,  they  make  every  exertion  to  poise  the 
canoe  on  the  back  of  a  wave,  so  as  to  ride  in  upon  the 
beach  before  the  surf  breaks,  which  might  fill  their  craft 
with  wa.ter.  Cape  Coast  (originally  Cabo  Corso)  like 
most  other  towns  in  these  parts,  was  founded  by  the 
Portuguese. 

Here  I  left  the  brig  in  which  I  had  come  from  Monrovia, 
and  went  ashore  to  wait  for  a  passage  for  Badagry.  At 
first  I  stopped  at  a  tolerably  good  hotel,  kept  by  a  native, 


VOYAGE  TO  BADAGRY. 


89 


but  was  soon  invited  to  reside  in  the  family  of  Rev.  T. 
B.  Freeman,  the  superintendent  of  the  Wesleyan  mis- 
sions. These  missions,  which  were  commenced  in  1835, 
consist  at  present  of  several  stations  on  the  Gold  and 
Slave  Coasts,  and  have  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  Ku- 
masi,  the  capital  of  Ashantee,  and  to  Abbeokuta,  the  cap- 
ital of  Egba.    They  number  several  hundred  converts. 

I  remained  at  Cape  Coast  about  three  weeks.  In 
walking  over  the  castle  one  day,  they  showed  me  the 
grave  of  the  gifted,  but  unhappy  Miss  Landon  (the 
poetess  "  L.  E.  L.")  She  married  a  government  officer, 
and  died  here  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 

In  the  hospital  I  saw  several  natives  laid  up  with 
Guinea  worm.  The  natives  attribute  this  disease  to  bad 
water,  as  do  those  of  Yoruba,  and  of  some  districts  on 
the  Red  Sea.    They  say  it  prevents  attacks  of  fever. 

The  hills  about  Cape  Coast  are  mostly  circular,  and 
graded  down  to  the  base,  so  that  the  numerous  little 
valleys  which  wind  among  them  are  nearly  level.  Iso- 
lated hills  or  patches,  and  short  chains  of  mountains  are 
a  general  feature  in  Africa.  A  man  could  pass  through- 
out the  continent  to  Egypt  at  many  points,  without 
climbing  a  single  mountain,  though  he  might  see  many 
peaks  during  his  journey. 

The  rocks  here,  as  at  El  Mina,  are  red  sand  stone,  some- 
times becoming  slaty,  but  apparently  destitute  of  or- 
ganic remains.  A  few  hundred  yards  east  of  the  castle, 
there  is  a  hill  which  projects  into  the  sea,  composed  of 
alternate  layers  of  harder  and  softer  gneiss.  The  con- 
stant dashing  of  the  waves  has  washed  away  the  softer 
portion,  to  some  depth,  leaving  the  former  in  projecting 
ledges.    These  ledges  rise  from  the  water's  edge  to  a 


90 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


height  considerably  above  the  present  level  of  the  sea, 
thus  proving  the  gradual  rise  of  the  coast.  Similar  and 
very  conclusive  evidence  of  the  same  fact  is  seen  in  the 
sand  stone  bluffs  at  Akra. 

About  the  middle  of  July  I  obtained  passage  to  Bada- 
gry  on  a  small  schooner  loaded  with  brown  sugar,  which 
"  steamed "  so  much  that  the  fumes  banished  us  from 
the  cabin.  Unsafe  as  it  might  be  to  sleep  on  the  dew- 
drenched  deck,  it  seemed  to  me  less  dangerous  than  to 
remain  all  night  in  the  palpable  vapors  of  damp  sugar. 
Our  captain  was  a  kind-hearted  old  Scotchman,  who 
was  not  ashamed  to  confess  how  himself  and  the  crew 
had  prayed  together  when  they  were  in  danger  of  being 
lost  in  a  hurricane.  I  have  seldom  met  with  an  irreli- 
gious man  who  had  the  moral  courage  to  admit  that  he 
had  been  frightened  into  prayer.  We  had  several  pas- 
sengers on  the  crowded  deck,  among  whom  were  a 
drunken  merchant  of  Akra,  a  Brazilian  slaver  of  the 
Slave  Coast,  and  a  pleasant  intelligent  man  who  held 
the  rank  of  colonial  surgeon  of  Cape  Coast.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  dishonesty  and  indolence  of  the  natives,  I  re- 
marked that  they  ought  to  have  masters,  in  obedience 
to  the  demands  of  natural  justice.  He  replied,  "  That 
is  true,  but  in  these  days  it  would  not  do  to  say  so."  I 
appreciated  the  remark.  The  world  is  governed  by 
fashion,  and  in  these  days  it  is  fashionable  to  regard 
human  rights  abstractly  from  all  human  relations. — 
Every  candid  and  reflecting  man  knows  that  such  rights 
are  a  positive  nonentity.  The  colonial  surgeon  knew 
it,  but  was  too  prudent  to  avow  his  conviction,  lest  he 
should  be  accused  of  favoring  the  slave  trade.  But  the 
just  deserts  of  a  lazy,  thievish  negro,  or  white  man,  is 


VOYAGE  TO  BADAGRY. 


91 


one  question,  and  our  authority  to  inflict  the  merited 
punishment,  is  another.  Many  a  man  deserves  to  be 
caned,  but  we  have  no  right  to  cane  him. 

During  our  stay  at  Akra,  I  went  ashore  to  visit  the 
gardens.  I  found  them  like  those  at  El  Mina  and  Cape 
Coast,  much  inferior  to  my  expectations.  The  natives 
here  speak  a  different  language  from  that  of  the  Fantees. 
Their  degree  of  civilization  is  about  the  same,  most  of 
their  houses  being  built  of  stone,  and  the  two  tribes  are 
about  equal  in  their  thievish  propensities,  and  want  of 
every  ennobling  quality.  The  Wesleyan  mission  at 
Akra  is  not  flourishing.  A  German  mission  at  Akra- 
pong,  fifty  miles  in  the  interior,  is  said  to  be  more 
successful. 

My  host  at  Akra  was  a  Mr.  Bruce.  Though  a  jet 
black  negro,  whose  ancestors,  for  aught  I  know,  had 
not  been  bleached  by  amalgamation  since  the  days  of 
Cush,  his  name  was  Bruce,  and  he  must  needs  send  all 
the  way  to  Scotland  for  the  Bruce  coat  of  arms,  which 
he  keeps  hung  up  in  his  parlor,  as  if  he,  like  the 
Abyssinian  traveler,  were  descended  from  Scotia's  kings. 
Vanity,  next  to  covetousness,  is  the  strongest  passion 
of  Africans.  To  dress  and  swagger  is  as  natural  to 
them  as  breathing.  In  Sierra  Leone,  native  boys  are 
christened  with  English  names,  and  frequently  with 
great  ones,  as  Edward  Bickersteth,  or  Jabez  Bunting. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  godfathers  pick  up  a  name  at 
random.  It  chanced  that  one  boy  was  called  Thomas 
Macauley  instead  of  John  Smith.  He  now  sports  the 
name  of  Thomas  Babington  Macauley;  the  additional 
name  being  an  after-thought  of  his  own.  I  had  a  serv- 
ant once  who  used  to  write  his  name  on  scraps  of 


92 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


paper,  "  Samuel  Charles  Jones,  Esq."  Native  assistants 
in  missions  are  more  apt  to  grow  in  consequence  than 
in  grace  and  knowledge  ;  but  I  have  met  with  several 
noble  exceptions. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  at  Aguey,  a  most  barba- 
rous town  in  the  Popo  country,  with  two  "factories" 
(trading-houses,)  one  for  the  slave  trade,  and  one  for 
lawful  commerce.  Here  the  slaves  left  us,  as  the  doctor 
had  done  at  Akra.  As  there  was  no  hotel  at  Aguey,  I 
stopped  at  the  English  factory,  where  I  appeared  to  be 
received  as  a  welcome  visitor  by  the  lonely  superintend- 
ent. The  entire  nudity  which  I  have  already  mentioned 
appeared  to  be  more  shameless  and  cordial  than  ever  in 
this  darkest  part  of  Africa.  But  here  also  it  is  confined 
to  one  sex.  I  have  never  seen  so  horrible  a  place  as 
Aguey,  or  one  which  I  remember  with  so  much  indig- 
nation. 

At  last  we  arrived  at  Badagry  on  the  5th  of  August, 
nearly  eight  months  after  I  had  sailed  from  the  United 
States.  Next  day  I  took  leave  of  the  good  old  captain, 
and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  myself  safely 
through  the  roaring  surf,  on  firm  land,  no  more  to  re- 
sume my  voyage.  A  flat,  treeless  prairie  extends  from 
the  beach  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  river  Ossa, 
which  is  seven  hundred  yards  wide,  and  runs  parallel 
with  the  coast  for  forty  or  fifty  miles  till  it  flows  into 
the  sea  at  Lagos.  The  banks  are  covered  with  papyrus, 
which  at  a  short  distance  resembles  the  young  pine. 
Immediately  beyond  the  river  is  the  vile  old  town  of 
Badagry  ;  and  twenty  days' journey  more  or  less,  would 
bring  me  to  Igboho  (Bohoo)  where  I  had  purposed  to 
make  the  first  experiment  in  the  Central  African  mission. 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


93 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BAD AG BY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  BADAGRY —  THE  SLAVE  COAST —  "  NEW  NIGGERS  "  — 
FIDA  —  THE  LANGUAGE  —  SLAVE  TRADE  —  SOIL  —  CLIMATE  —  RELIGIOUS 
CEREMONY  —  WITCHES  —  MARKETS  —  CURRENCY  —  COWRIES  —  BEGGARS 
—  OLD  SIMEON  —  A  SERVANT  AND  A  HORSE  —  DEPARTURE  FROM  BADA- 
GRY —  BURIAL  IN  THE  AIR  —  HOW  LOADS  ARE  CARRIED  —  PRAIRIES  — 
A  LAGOON  —  A  CARAVAN — THE  COUNTRY  —  SOIL  —  SCENERY  —  COUN- 
TRIES ON  THE  SLAVE  COAST  —  EIGHTEEN  MONTHS'  DETENTION. 

Badagry  contained  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  houses  were  built  of  bamboo,  (foot  stems  of  white 
palm  leaves,)  and  the  yard  fences  were  of  the  same  ma- 
terial. The  streets  were  narrow  and  intricate  lanes,  as 
in  all  other  native  towns,  whether  on  the  coast  or  in 
the  interior.  Many  of  the  people  were  scape-gallows 
villains,  who  had  fled  from  other  countries.  One  of 
the  English  missionaries,  who  had  been  residing  for 
some  time  in  the  place,  remarked  that  their  cup  of  ini- 
quity was  full,  and  the  people  were  ripe  for  destruction.* 
About  a  year  and  a  half  after  this,  Badagry  was  burnt 
down,  in  a  cut  throat  affray  among  its  own  citizens. 

This  part  of  Africa  is  called  the  Slave  Coast,  because 
it  afforded  the  most  intelligent,  docile  and  industrious 
negroes  for  the  American  plantations.    I  am  sorry  to 


*  See  Lander's  account  of  this  place,  in  1832. 


94 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


add,  that  these  good  "niggers"  were  the  almost  civil- 
ized inhabitants  of  Yoruba,  Nufe,  Hausa,  and  other 
countries  in  Sudan,  the  very  people  to  whom  I  had  gone 
forth  as  a  missionary.  They,  at  least,  according  to  the 
inflexible  laws  of  nature,  deserved  a  better  fate  than 
slavery  ;  for  if  rights  and  relations  are  the  just  results 
of  properties,  (or  character,  which  they  undoubtedly 
are,)  these  people  had  a  right  to  remain  unmolested  in 
their  native  land.  Every  planter  who  is  forty  years 
old,  knows  the  great  difference  in  the  character  of  "  new 
niggers."  The  short,  stubby,  silly  fellows  often  brought 
into  the  slave  markets,  were  chiefly  from  Congo,  south 
of  the  line,  where  all  the  people  (imported  to  America) 
have  an  affinity  to  the  Hottentots.  The  "  Gulla  niggers," 
were  from  Golah  country  on  the  St.  Paul's  river,  where 
they  still  vegetate,  about  the  meanest  of  the  human 
race,  and  amply  worthy  of  the  cotton  field.  The  "Eboe 
nigger,"  was  from  a  fine  open  country,  above  the  delta 
of  the  Niger,  and  not  from  the  delta  itself,  as  we  have 
commonly  supposed.*  At  home  he  was  a  noble,  high- 
minded  and  half  civilized  man,  who  beautified  his  fine 
country  with  well  cultivated  farms  and  shady  villages. 
In  America  he  was  trusty,  intelligent  and  industrious, 
but  remarkable  for  an  absolutely  indomitable  spirit,  to 
which  even  the  master  must  yield,  when  the  Eboe  was 
aroused,  unless  he  should  choose  to  shoot  down  the  best 
slave  on  his  plantation.  No  wonder  :  for  the  Eboes  in 
common  with  the  Sudanese,  have  undergone  a  strong 
Caucasian  innervation,  which  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  some  of  them  are  nearly  white.    The  rest  of  the 


*  There  is  a  village,  but  no  country  or  tribe,  called  Eboe. 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


95 


"  Guinea  niggers,"  brought  to  our  country,  were  princi- 
pally the  hateful  Popoes,  the  shrewd  but  thievish  Fan- 
tees,  and  others  like  them. 

Several  old  writers  (as  Bosnian,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago)  give  a  glowing  description  of  a  country 
west  of  Badagry,  called  Fida — whence  the  name  Why- 
dah.  The  country  in  this  region  is  still  exceedingly 
beautiful,  but  the  power  and  glory  of  the  Fida  kingdom, 
if  it  ever  existed,  is  not  remembered  by  the  natives. 
Bosman,  a  Dutchman,  declined  to  give  any  specimens 
of  the  barbarous  language  in  these  parts,  being  more 
intent  on  buying  slaves  for  half-civilized  colonists  than 
to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  enlightened  men.  This  was 
natural  to  Bosman,  and  to  the  sensual  age  in  which  he 
lived,  when  even  some  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church 
derived  large  revenues  from  the  slave  trade.  At  pres- 
ent, the  prevailing  language  on  this  coast  is  the 
Yoruba,  which  has  almost  supplanted  the  Popo,  by  the 
silent  and  gradual  progress  of  immigration  from  the 
interior.  In  vain  do  we  inquire  whether  the  encroach- 
ments of  a  superior  race  were  already  extensive  in  the 
days  of  Bosman. 

A  few  miles  above  Badagry,  on  the  same  river  (Ossa), 
is  a  still  larger  town  called  Ajasheh  (which  means 
broken  by  war).  At  this  point,  the  river  is  nine  miles 
from  the  sea,  at  Porto  Novo,  Domingo's  slave  station, 
a  name  which  Europeans  apply  to  Ajasheh.  In  1850, 
Ajasheh,  Whydah,  and  nearly  all  the  Slave  Coast,  led  by 
Gezo,  king  of  Dahomy,  and  Kosokkoh,  the  usurper  at 
Lagos  or  Eko,  were  in  favor  of  the  slave  trade,  and  op- 
posed to  lawful  commerce  and  missionaries.  Only  Ab- 
beokuta,  a  large  town  sixty  miles  in  the  interior,  and  a 


96 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


minority  at  Badagry,  were  opposed  to  the  slave  trade, 
as  contrary  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  I  was 
informed  that  Gezo  and  Kosokkoh  were  concocting  a 
plan  to  destroy  Abbeokuta  and  subdue  Badagry,  so  as 
to  expel  the  English  merchants  and  missionaries,  and 
restore  the  slave  trade,  as  in  former  days.  The  ill  suc- 
cess of  these  attempts  will  be  noticed  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

The  soil  on  this  part  of  the  Slave  Coast,  which  some 
travelers  have  pronounced  exceedingly  fertile,  is  often 
decidedly  poor.  No  intelligent  farmer  could  be  deceived 
by  the  barren  sandy  soil  at  Badagry.  Weeds  and 
grasses,  unfit  for  man  or  beast,  are  stimulated  to  luxu- 
riance by  heat  and  moisture,  but  the  crops  of  Indian 
corn,  peas,  potatoes,  &c,  which  depend  upon  soil  as 
well  as  climate,  are  indifferent.  Geologically  speaking, 
the  land  on  this  part  of  the  coast  is  little  else  than  the 
sand  of  the  "  drift  period,"  the  coarser  materials  being 
deposited  far  in  the  interior. 

The  streams  about  Badagry  are  nothing  but  narrow 
lines  of  swamp,  owing  to  the  dead  level  of  the  surface. 
Such  a  country  cannot  be  healthy.  Two  or  three  mis- 
sionaries had  recently  died  at  Badagry,  and  the  Euro- 
pean merchants  had  suffered  still  more  severely.  I 
was  told  that  six  young  men  had  died  in  a  single  year 
in  one  factory,  the  victims  of  rum,  debauchery  and 
fever. 

During  the  eight  days  that  I  remained  at  Badagry,  I 
rambled  through  every  part  of  the  town  and  the  adjacent 
farms.  In  one  of  the  streets  I  saw  a  dog,  which  had 
been  sacrificed,  and  suspended  to  the  boughs  of  a  tree, 
in  honor  of  some  mangy  orisha  (idol).    Sacrifices  and 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


97 


processions,  with  noisy  uproar  and  beating  of  drums, 
appear  to  be  a  precious  amusement  to  the  people. 
Christian  converts  in  every  part  of  Africa  still  retain 
their  innate  love  of  noise  and  gesticulation.  Rare  scenes 
are  sometimes  witnessed  in  the  Methodist  meetings  on 
some  parts  of  the  coast.  The  sober  Episcopalian  con- 
verts are  greatly  delighted  with  the  "service."  To 
kneel  a  little,  and  to  stand  a  little,  by  turns,  to  chaunt 
the  doxology,  and  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  concert, 
to  bow  the  knee  mechanically  whenever  they  repeat  the 
name  of  Jesus  in  the  creed,  to  exclaim  "Good  Lord 
deliver  us,"  in  solemn  set  tones,  twenty  times  successive- 
ly, in  the  responses  of  the  litany — all  this  has  a  strong 
hold  on  the  hearts  of  the  people,  because  it  is  congenial 
to  their  natural  feelings.  The  Baptist  converts  can 
scarcely  be  restrained  from  attaching  supernatural  effi- 
cacy to  the  act  of  solemn  immersion  in  water. 

In  addition  to  their  other  superstitions,  it  appears 
that  the  good  citizens  of  Badagry  were  sorely  annoyed 
by  witches,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  destroying  people, 
especially  fat  ones,  by  sucking  their  blood  while  asleep. 
Sometimes  an  old  hag  of  a  heathen  confesses  the  charge, 
and  courageously  resigns  herself  to  the  penalty  of  death. 
How  the  people  stare  at  a  veritable  witch  !  Hearing  a 
great  uproar  one  day,  I  inquired  "What's  the  matter?" 
"  Oh,  they  have  caught  a  witch,  and  are  going  to  kill 
her." 

I  was  fond  of  going  to  see  the  market,  which  was 
crowded  every  evening  with  thousands  of  people,  includ- 
ing many  from  interior  towns,  busily  and  noisily  en- 
gaged in  buying  and  selling  cloth,  rum,  tobacco,  gun- 
powder, salt,  yams,  Indian  corn,  goats,  sheep,  fowls, 
5 


98 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


and  a  long  list  of  other  articles,  some  from  Europe  and 
America,  and  others  from  the  depths  of  the  continent. 
The  currency  on  the  Slave  Coast,  and  far  interior  to 
Hausa  and  Burnu,  is  a  little  shell  as  large  as  the  end  of 
one's  finger,  called  a  cowry,  (cyprea  moneta).  They 
are  not  found  in  Western  Africa,  but  are  brought  by 
Europeans  from  India  and  Zanzibar,  and  given  to  the 
natives  for  palm  oil  and  other  productions  of  the  coun- 
try. Forty  cowries  are  called  a  "  string,"  fifty  strings 
or  two  thousand  cowries,  are  a  "  head,"  and  ten  heads 
are  a  "  bag."  It  is  usual  to  value  two  thousand  cow- 
ries at  one  dollar,  which  is  twenty  to  the  cent,  but  of 
late  they  are  generally  cheaper  on  the  coast.  I  am 
told  that  the  intrinsic  value  of  good  cowries  in  Europe, 
where  they  are  used  in  the  arts,  is  about  equal  to  their 
current  value  in  Africa.  The  iron  money  of  Lycurgus 
was  not  more  cumbersome  than  cowries,  the  net 
weight  often  dollars' worth,  (20,000  shells)  being  from 
fifty  to  seventy  pounds.  The  common  price  of  a  fowl 
is  from  200  to  250  shells  ;  of  a  sheep,  from  4000  to  6000  ; 
of  a  horse,  from  60,000  to  120,000,  and  other  things  in 
proportion.  When  building  our  houses,  we  are  obliged 
to  keep  a  man  to  count  the  cowries  every  evening  for 
the  laborers.  Silver  and  gold  are  not  current  here,  be- 
cause the  merchants  on  the  coast,  who  import  the  cow- 
ries, will  take  nothing  but  shells  or  palm  oil  for  the 
cloth,  guns,  tobacco,  rum,  &c,  which  they  sell  to  the 
natives.  Neither  is  it  possible  to  pay  for  provisions 
and  labor  in  goods  of  any  kind,  barter  being  unknown, 
and  cowries  demanded  for  everything. 

The  people  of  Badagry  having  a  poor  soil,  and  a  suf- 
ficient traffic  to  prevent  their  starving,  were  not  much 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


99 


addicted  to  labor.  Even  fishing,  which  is  vigorously 
prosecuted  by  the  tribes  on  the  Gold,  Ivory,  and  Grain 
Coasts,  is  confined  here  to  the  sluggish  Ossa  river.  No 
Badagrian  would  think  of  launching  a  canoe  into  the 
open  sea.  The  town  swarmed  with  thieves  and  drunk- 
ards, whose  only  object  in  life  was  sensual  gratifica- 
tion. Nowhere  else  had  I  met  with  so  many  impudent 
and  shameless  beggars.  When  a  missionary  attempted 
to  preach  to  a  crowd  in  the  streets  or  market,  it  was 
very  common  for  some  of  them  to  reply  by  laying  their 
hands  on  their  stomachs,  and  saying,  "White  man,  I 
am  hungry  !"  Soon  after  my  arrival,  a  fellow  introduced 
himself  as  the  "American  chief,"  who  was  to  receive 
presents  from  all  American  visitors.  Another  was 
called  the  "  English  chief,"  another  the  "  French  chief," 
&c.  These  greedy  chiefs  are  no  longer  able  to  rob  men 
as  they  did  the  Landers,  because  there  is  now  a  strong 
minority  of  the  people  opposed  to  such  conduct,  but  if 
they  had  been  left  to  themselves,  no  missionary  could 
have  passed  through  Badagry,  without  leaving  a  large 
part  of  his  property. 

One  of  my  first  cares  on  entering  Badagry,  was  to 
inquire  the  way  to  Bohoo,  for  this  was  the  place  to  which 
I  had  started,  and  no  other  town  in  Africa  would  satisfy 
my  desires.  Every  body,  whether  missionaries,  mer- 
chants, or  natives,  assured  me  that  the  road  to  Bohoo 
had  been  closed  for  a  long  time  by  the  Yoruba  wars,  and 
that  Abbeokuta,  sixty  miles  to  the  N.E.  of  Badagry,  was 
the  only  place  in  the  interior  to  which  I  could  possibly 
go.  I  was  unwilling  to  pass  through  Abbeokuta,  because 
it  lay  considerably  east  of  my  route  ;  and  I  had  still  less 
desire  to  stop  there,  because  I  supposed  it  was  nothing 


100 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


more  than  other  towns  in  Guinea,  of  which  I  had  seen  a 
sufficient  number.  In  America,  I  had  read  a  pleasing 
account  of  "  old  Simeon,"  a  convert  in  the  Wesleyan 
mission  at  Badagry  ;  and  on  inquiry,  the  missionaries 
informed  me  that  he  was  a  native  of  Bohoo,  and  had 
begged  them  to  go  and  preach  to  his  countrymen.  Of 
course  I  paid  him  a  visit.  The  venerable  old  man  was 
delighted  to  hear  that  I  had  left  home  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  his  native  city,  and  declared  his  readiness  to 
go  with  me,  but  added  that  I  would  find  it  impossible 
to  go  at  present. 

Losing  all  hope  of  doing  better,  I  resolved  to  visit 
Abbeokuta,  and  there  renew  my  efforts  to  reach  Bohoo. 
My  preparations  for  departure  were  commenced  by  em- 
ploying for  a  servant,  a  stout  awkward  Egba  youth, 
who  spoke  English.  His  wages  as  fixed  by  himself, 
were  $1.50  per  month  ;  "  poor  pay,  poor  preach."  Eight 
men  were  required  to  carry  my  baggage,  and  my  boy 
Sam  soon  engaged  them  at  one  dollar  apiece  for  the 
journey.  My  next  exploit  was  to  purchase  a  horse  from 
a  mulatto  school-master,  in  one  of  the  missions,  for  $40. 
His  color  was  bay,  his  height  eleven  hands,  and  his 
name  was  Caesar.  The  seller  recommended  him  as  "  a 
powerful  animal,"  and  "  a  war-horse,"  which  had  "been 
in  battle."  On  the  second  day  of  my  journey,  Csesar  fell 
lame,  and  Samuel  Charles  Jones,  Esq.,  drove  him  behind 
me  to  Abbeokuta.  On  arriving  there,  I  had  the  satis- 
faction to  learn,  that  if  the  horse  was  worthless,  the 
price  was  unusual  ;  sound  ponies  of  that  size  being- 
valued  at  $20.  Poor  Caesar  lingered  a  while,  and  died 
of  the  journey. 

All  thingsj3eing  ready,  I  bid  farewell  to  Badagry,  on 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


101 


the  14th  of  August,  and  departed  on  my  second  at- 
tempt to  reach  the  interior  of  Africa.  Half  a  mile  from 
the  town,  we  saw  a  corpse  tied  up  in  mats,  and  suspend- 
ed horizontally  between  two  stakes,  four  or  five  feet 
from  the  ground.  In  this  manner  they  dispose  of  slaves 
who  die,  while  in  pawn  for  debt,  so  that  the  master,  on 
coming  down  from  the  interior,  may  know  that  his  slave 
has  not  been  sold  by  the  creditor.  Two  or  three  miles 
further  on,  we  passed  near  the  farm  of  the  infamous 
Adule,  (Lander's  Adooley,)  who  had  been  dead  for  seve- 
ral years.  All  along  the  road,  we  met  numbers  of  men, 
women  and  children  going  to  the  Badagry  market,  with 
palm-oil,  corn,  yams,  fowls,  fire-wood,  &c,  which  they 
carried  in  heavy  loads  on  their  heads,  according  to  the 
universal  custom  of  this  country;  though  the  Golahs, 
and  others  in  that  region,  carry  burdens  on  their  backs. 
About  six  miles'  walk  through  beautifully  interspersed 
woods  and  prairies,  brought  us  to  Mo,  or  Imowo  lagoon, 
which  is  half  a  mile  wide,  and  so  deep  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son, that  the  people  are  not  able  to  ford  it.  Here  we 
found  a  caravan  of  several  hundred  men  and  women, 
who  made  the  woods  ring  with  their  noisy  chat  and 
laughter,  while  waiting  for  a  few  canoes  to  convey 
them  over  the  water.  After  a  while,  a  nearly  naked 
fellow,  in  a  very  small  canoe,  slipped  out  from  the  trees 
and  bushes  which  fill  the  lagoon,  and  paddled  up  to  the 
landing,  with  several  large  calabashes  full  of  palm  wine, 
which  he  retailed  to  the  noisy  travelers.  Every  canoe 
which  returned  from  the  other  side  of  the  water,  was 
met  at  some  distance  from  the  bank,  by  numbers  of 
people,  who  put  in  their  loads  and  dragged  it  to  the 
shore  to  get  in  themselves,  so  that  all  the  begging  and 


102 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


bawling  we  could  do,  was  not  sufficient  to  procure  a 
passage  for  myself  and  horse,  till  it  was  too  dark  to  go 
at  all. 

Early  next  morning  we  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
water,  my  horse  swimming  most  of  the  way  by  the  side 
of  a  canoe,  along  a  crooked  road  cut  through  the  jungle. 
We  took  breakfast  in  Mo  village,  beyond  the  lagoon, 
and  traveled  about  three  miles  through  the  bush,  like 
that  in  Liberia,  to  a  beautiful  prairie,  adorned  by  seve- 
ral tall  and  graceful  fan-leaf  palms.  After  passing 
through  several  forests,  farms  and  prairies,  we  entered 
a  great  wood,  which  continued  with  little  interruption, 
for  nearly  thirty  miles,  to  a  more  open  country.  The 
first  stones,  (iron  conglomerate,)  occurred  about  thirty 
miles  from  Badagry.  The  soil  was  generally  good  and 
the  streams  rather  swampy.  Near  the  centre  of  this 
great  forest,  though  not  immediately  on  the  road,  is  a 
shabby  little  town  which  is  distinguished  as  the  birth- 
place of  Adule. 

On  Sunday,  the  17th,  we  rested  by  a  beautiful  stream 
of  clear  water,  about  twenty  miles  from  Abbeokuta. 
The  woods  were  full  of  monkeys,  parrots,  horn  bills  and 
honey  bees.  Next  morning  we  traveled  about  three 
miles  through  a  fertile  and  heavily  timbered  body  of 
land  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  where  we  suddenly  emerged 
into  an  open  country,  and  my  eyes  were  greeted  with 
a  more  lovely  scene  than  I  had  ever  expected  to  behold 
in  Africa — a  vast  expanse  of  undulating  prairie,  scat- 
tered over  with  palms  and  groves,  and  bounded  in  the 
distance  by  blue,  mountainous  looking  hills.  I  felt  that  I 
had  entered  a  new  region;  Guinea  was  left  behind  me. 
Passing  through  this  lovely  country,  delighted  by  fresh 


BADAGRY  AND  THE  SLAVE  COAST. 


103 


beauties  at  every  step,  we  arrived  at  the  Ogun  river, 
which  flows  by  Abbeokuta,  a  little  after  sunset,  and  en- 
tered the  city  by  twilight. 

Abbeokuta  is  the  capital  of  the  very  small  independ- 
ent kingdom  of  Egba,  which  is  numbered  according  to 
its  position  among  the  countries  of  Guinea,  but  in  char- 
acter is  more  nearly  allied  to  Sudan.  The  whole  popu- 
lation of  this  little  state  may  be  set  down  at  100,000, 
most  of  whom  are  in  the  capital  city.  On  the  east  and 
southeast  of  Egba,  is  the  kingdom  of  Ijebu,  (tortured 
by  different  writers  into  Jaboo,  Yebu  and  Dshebu,)  and 
east  of  this  lies  the  larger  country  of  Ibini  or  Benin. 
To  the  south  and  west  of  Egba,  are  several  unconnected 
towns,  mhabited  by  a  people,  who  are  called  Egbado 
(the  lower  Egbas)  ;  to  the  west  of  whom  is  the  little 
kingdom  of  Iketu,  which  extends  to  Dahomy.  Badagry 
and  Lagos,  (Eko,)  on  the  coast,  are  independent  towns, 
the  latter  of  which  is  ruled  by  a  king,  who  formerly 
professed  allegiance  to  Benin.  Midway  between  Bada- 
gry and  Abbeokuta,  is  a  very  small  tribe  called  Otta. 
The  Ijebus,  Egbas,  Egbadoes,  Ottas  and  Iketus,  as  also 
the  people  of  Badagry  and  Lagos,  speak  the  Yoruba 
language.  All  these  people  are  similar  in  features, 
character  and  customs,  but  those  near  the  coast  are 
more  barbarous  than  those  of  the  interior.  The  Popoes 
and  Dahomies  are  more  degraded,  at  least  morally,  than 
any  other  people  on  this  coast.  They  were  probably  the 
original  owners  of  all  the  forest  country  between  Bada- 
gry and  Egba,  but  have  gradually  retired  before  their 
Yoruba-speaking  neighbors,  till  their  language  has 
almost  disappeared  from  most  parts  of  the  coast  east  of 
Whydah    The  proper  Yoruba  kingdom,  and  the  origi- 


104 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


nal  seat  of  all  the  Yoruba-speaking  tribes,  extends  from 
Benin  on  the  east  to  Dahomy  on  the  west,  having  the 
Ijebus,  Egbas,  Egbadoes,  and  Iketus  on  its  southern 
border.  The  Yoruba  country  begins  about  twenty  miles 
north  of  Abbeokuta,  or  eighty  miles  by  the  road,  from 
the  sea  coast.  No  wonder  if  I  entertained  pleasing- 
hopes  of  soon  being  able  to  enter  the  country  when 
several  of  its  mountains  are  in  plain  view  of  Abbeokuta. 
Yet  I  was  compelled  to  remain  in  Egba  and  the  other 
low  countries  for  eighteen  months,  before  the  chiefs 
would  give  me  permission  to  proceed.  But  this  time 
was  not  wholly  lost,  since  I  was  employed  in  studying 
the  language,  and  in  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
character  of  the  people. 


ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 


105 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 

ABBEOKUTA  —  OGUN  RIVER  —  ROOKS  —  SOIL  —  EGBA  COUNTRY  DESOLATED 
BY  WAR  —  ANCIENT  GIANTS  —  WARS  —  DAHOMIES  DEFEATED  —  MIS- 
SIONARIES INVITED  TO  EGBA  —  SUCCESS  —  TRANSLATIONS  —  HAND  OF 
PROVIDENCE. 

The  population  of  Abbeokuta  is  estimated  by  some 
Europeans  at  sixty  thousand,  and  by  others  at  one  hun- 
dred thousand  souls.  I  approached  the  place  with  a  con- 
fident expectation  of  reducing  the  estimate  to  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  thousand,  for  I  could  not  believe  that  the 
towns  here  were  so  great,  when  they  were  generally 
small  in  other  parts  of  Africa.  Though  it  was  nearly 
dark  when  I  arrived,  I  could  still  see  enough  to  mitigate 
my  unbelief.  It  appeared  to  be  truly  an  extensive  town, 
and  my  wonder  was  not  diminished  by  traveling  half  a 
mile  to  the  Wesleyan  station,  which  they  said  was  almost 
in  the  suburbs.  Here  I  spent  the  night  and  rested  for 
two  or  three  days.  Proceeding  then  by  daylight,  I 
found  it  about  a  mile  to  the  first  Episcopal  station, 
which  was  then  in  charge  of  Mr.  Crowther,  a  native 
missionary.  Nearly  a  mile  further,  amid  numberless 
houses  I  was  brought  to  Mr.  Townsend's  station,  and  it 
was  still  two  miles  further  to  Mr.  Smith's  station  near 
the  northern  wall.  The  length  of  the  town  by  the  most 
direct  route  was  afterwards  measured  by  a  perambulator, 
5* 


106 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


#and  found  to  be  within  a  few  rods  of  four  miles.  The 
width  is  from  two  to  three  miles.  The  walls,  which  in- 
clude much  open  space,  are  probably  fifteen  miles  in  cir- 
cuit, and  the  town  itself  is  not  less  than  ten  miles  in 
circuit.  Observing  that  the  houses  are  very  large,  and 
learning  that  the  population  of  a  house  varies  from 
twenty  to  one  hundred  souls,  I  felt  entirely  unable  to 
guess  how  many  thousands  an  accurate  census  would 
give  to  Abbeokuta.  Here  the  matter  is  obliged  to  rest, 
but  we  all  think  it  reasonable  to  estimate  the  popula- 
tion at  sixty  to  one  hundred  thousand  souls.* 

Abbeokuta  is  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Ogun  river,  in  latitude  1°  8'  N.,  and,  by  estimation,  about 
3°  20'  E.  longitude.  The  river,  which  is  here  about  one 
hundred  yards  wide,  is  navigable  for  canoes  to  the  rapids 
near  the  southern  wall  of  the  town,  and  might  be  avail- 
able for  light  steamers  to  a  point  about  twelve  miles 
lower  down.  The  distance  to  Lagos  by  the  river  is 
about  ninety  miles,  mostly  through  a  rich  but  sparsely 
inhabited  country. 

The  rocks  about  Abbeokuta  are  chiefly  granite,  many 
huge  masses  of  which,  in  and  around  the  town,  arise  to 
a  height  of  two  hundred  feet  or  more.  Much  of  the  soil 
is  not  very  fertile  ;  the  water  is  pure,  and  the  climate 
healthy.  The  surrounding  country  is  generally  open  or 
sparsely  timbered,  being  of  the  kind  which  is  commonly 
called  grass-field  by  the  English,  and  prairie  by  our- 
selves. The  absence  of  timber  is  attributable  to  long 
continued  cultivation.  Most  of  the  Egba  kingdom,  how- 
ever, is  very  fertile,  and  covered  with  forests  as  other 


*  Such  towns  have  gates  at  convenient  points  around  the  wall,  and 
the  farms  extend  in  all  directions  from  ten  to  twenty  miles. 


ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 


107 


parts  of  Guinea.  Fifty  years  ago  this  small  territory 
could  boast  of  nearly  three  hundred  towns,  some  of 
which  were  considerably  populous  ;  but  now  the  village 
of  Oko-Obba,  in  the  south-west  of  the  kingdom,  is  the 
only  one  remaining  :  all  the  others  having  been  utterly 
destroyed  by  war.  Abbeokuta,  which  then  had  no 
existence,  is  composed  of  refugees  from  about  one  hun- 
dred towns. 

In  ancient  times,  as  their  tradition  relates,  the  Egba 
country  was  a  province  of  the  Yoruba  kingdom.  At 
last  a  giant  named  Lishabbeh  headed  a  rebellion  against 
an  oppressive  king,  and  the  Egbas  became  independent 
under  a  king  of  their  own.  Lishabbeh  is  still  worship- 
ped by  the  Egbas,  and  his  farm,  which  it  would  be  sac- 
rilege to  reclaim,  is  shown  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Ogun,  about  twelve  miles  below  Abbeokuta.  Many 
stories  are  told  of  this  and  other  giants,  who  are  repre- 
sented as  men  of  great  stature.  One  of  them,  who  be- 
longed to  the  town  of  Igbehin,  committed  a  sacrilege  by 
robbing  the  temple  of  Orishako,  at  Irawaw,  in  the  west 
of  Yoruba,  whence  a  law  was  passed,  and  is  still  en- 
forced, that  no  Igbehin  man  shall  enter  Irawaw. 

After  a  long  time,  the  Egbas  abolished  royalty  with- 
out substituting  any  efficient  general  government  in  its 
stead;  and  this  finally  led  to  most  disastrous  results. 
Jealousies  between  the  chiefs  and  people  of  independ- 
ent Egba  towns  led  to  civil  war,  and  the  Yorubas  and 
Ijebus,  by  assisting  first  one  town  and  then  another,  suc- 
ceeded in  depopulating  the  whole  country.  Some  of  the 
last  towns  were  destroyed  about  thirty  years  ago.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  these  wars  destroyed  two  hundred 
thousand  people.    Multitudes  were  captured  and  sold  to 


108 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


the  slavers,  who  shipped  them  to  Cuba  and  Brazil,  where 
great  numbers  of  them  are  still  living.  Several  thou- 
sands were  re-captured  on  the  high  seas  and  carried  to 
Sierra  Leone.  Many  others  fled  to  adjacent  countries. 
Some  of  the  captives  are  still  in  slavery  to  the  Yorubas, 
as  for  instance  at  Ogbomoshaw,  where  the  Egbas  are 
said  to  number  two  thousand.  Others  again  were  sent 
to  slave  markets  beyond  the  Niger,  and  found  masters 
in  Hausa  and  Burnu,  or  passed  over  the  desert  to  Tri- 
poli and  Egypt.  So  great  an  overthrow  of  a  whole  tribe 
has  seldom  happened  even  in  Africa. 

Abbeokuta  was  founded  about  forty  years  ago  by  the 
refugees  who  were  so  happy  as  to  escape  the  general 
destruction.  At  first  a  few  persons  took  shelter  on  the 
top  of  a  steep  granite  hill  under  the  shelving  sides  of 
an  immense  rock.  As  this  part  of  the  country  was  not 
then  inhabited,  they  found  here  a  place  of  safety.  Others 
joined  them  from  time  to  time,  and  the  new  settlement 
received  the  appropriate  name  of  Abbeh-okuta,  "  Under- 
stone."  The  remnants  of  each  town,  as  they  arrived, 
settled  together  around  the  original  nucleus  and  called 
their  locality  by  the  name  of  their  native  town  ;  whence 
there  are  many  districts  in  the  city  still  distinguished  by 
these  names,  as  Ake,  (the  name  of  the  old  capital,)  Igboro, 
Emmere,  Igbehin,  etc.  The  great  rock  which  gave  shel- 
ter to  the  first  refugees,  is  worshipped  by  some  under 
the  name  of  Olumoh,  "  the  builder."  The  old  people  still 
remember  their  former  homes  with  affection,  and  some- 
times express  a  desire  to  return,  but  the  young  men  are 
opposed  to  resettling  in  the  old  towns,  and  insist  on  the 
policy  of  retaining  command  of  the  river  and  the  trade 
to  Lagos. 


ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 


109 


The  enemies  of  the  Egbas  were  not  long  in  forming  a 
resolution  to  destroy  the  new  city.  But  their  opportunity 
was  already  past.  The  united  remnants  of  the  nation 
had  wisely  placed  themselves  under  the  command  of  a 
single  leader,  a  balogun  (or  general)  named  Shodekkeh, 
who  proved  himself  equal  to  the  task  he  had  undertaken. 
The  first  assailants  were  the  numerous  and  warlike 
Mahometans  of  Ilorrin,  who  returned  defeated.  Not 
long  after,  Shodekkeh  repulsed  the  combined  forces  of 
Ijebu  and  Otta.  An  army  sent  from  the  strong  city  of 
Ibadan  was  equally  unsuccessful.  The  fame  of  these 
victories  reached  the  king  of  Dahomy,  who  made  an  al- 
liance with  Shodekkeh ;  and  the  Egbas  began  to  be  as 
much  feared  as  they  were  hated. 

All  this  time  the  people  of  Abbeokuta  were  cut  off 
from  direct  communication  with  the  coast,  from  which 
they  desired  to  receive  arms  and  merchandize  in  return 
for  the  slaves  captured  in  their  late  successful  wars. 
Lagos,  which  stands  on  an  island,  was  too  inaccessible, 
and  too  well  defended  by  the  armed  canoes  of  its  inhab- 
itants, to  be  assaulted.  Shodekkeh  resolved  to  open 
communication  with  Badagry,  by  subduing  his  old  ene- 
mies, the  Ottas,  and  opening  a  passage  through  their 
country.  The  town  of  Otta  was  taken,  but  the  people 
were  permitted  to  remain  on  condition  that  they  should 
not  rebuild  their  walls.  A  strong  party  of  Egbas  then 
proceeded  to  Adu,  on  the  Badagry  road,  which  they  be- 
sieged for  several  years,  in  the  meantime  cultivating 
4  farms  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  town,  while  the  besieged 
were  doing  the  same  on  the  west.  In  fact,  the  object  of 
this  siege  was  not  to  destroy  Adu,  but  to  give  security 
to  the  Egba  caravans,  which  were  now  trading  to  Bad- 


110 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


agry.  About  the  year  1842,  Shodekkeh  died,  and  on 
hearing  this,  the  king  of  Dahomy  treacherously  marched 
against  the  Egbas  at  Adu.  It  is  probable  that  his  only 
design  in  this  movement  was  to  capture  slaves  ;  but  the 
Egbas  were  victorious,  and  captured  the  king's  royal 
chair.  Soon  after  this  battle,  they  raised  the  siege  and 
returned  home  ;  but  the  people  of  Add  thought  best  to 
permit  a  continuance  of  the  traffic  between  Abbeokuta 
and  Badagry.  In  1852,  the  Egbas  became  masters  of 
the  Ogun  river,  and  opened  an  active  trade  with  Lagos. 

This  story  of  Abbeokuta,  considered  apart  from  more 
important  subjects,  would  scarcely  be  worth  relating. 
But  the  most  interesting  portion  of  the  narrative  re- 
mains to  be  told.  The  Wesleyan  missionaries,  in 
looking  around  for  fields  of  labor,  had  fallen  on  Bad- 
agry, to  all  appearance  one  of  the  least  hopeful  points 
on  the  whole  coast.  When  the  Egbas  began  their 
traffic  with  Badagry,  they  met  with  the  missionaries, 
and  carried  home  such  curious  accounts  of  their  charac- 
ter and  motives,  that  Shodekkeh  and  his  people  desired 
to  see  them.  About  the  same  time  (1838)  several 
Egbas,  who  had  been  re-captured  from  slave-ships  and 
civilized  in  Sierra  Leone,  returned  to  their  countrymen 
at  Abbeokuta,  telling  wonderful  things  of  Christianity 
and  Christian  missionaries.  The  consequence  was  that 
the  Wesleyan  missionaries  were  invited  to  .Abbeokuta. 
This  was  reported  to  Mr.  Freeman,  the  superintendent, 
who  repaired  to  Abbeokuta,  and  was  joyfully  received 
by  Shodekkeh  and  the  people. 

In  the  meantime,  some  of  the  converted  Egbas  of  the 
Episcopal  congregations  in  Sierra  Leone  desired  to  re- 
turn home,  and  begged  that  missionaries  might  go  with 


ABBEOKUTA  AND  THE  EGBAS. 


Ill 


them.  Mr.  Townsend  was  sent  to  Abbeokuta  to  make 
observations,  and  report  on  the  prospects.  In  going 
up  from  Badagry,  he  met  with  Mr.  Freeman  on  his  way 
down.  He  also  was  well  received  by  Shodekkeh,  and 
on  his  return  to  Sierra  Leone,  the  committee  resolved  on 
a  mission  to  the  Egbas. 

In  December,  1844,  Mr.  Townsend,  Mr.  Gollmer,  and 
Mr.  Crowther,  a  native  missionary  of  the  Yoruba  tribe, 
who  had  been  educated  in  Sierra  Leone,  arrived  at 
Badagry  to  commence  the  new  mission.  By  this  time 
Shodekkeh  was  dead,  and  the  whole  country  was  so 
much  distracted  by  wars  that  the  Egba  chiefs  were  un- 
willing to  let  the  missionaries  proceed  to  Abbeokuta. 
They  began  to  labor  at  Badagry,  but  finally,  in  July, 
1846,  Mr.  Townsend  and  Mr.  Crowther  arrived  at  Ab- 
beokuta, and  were  received  with  general  demonstrations 
of  joy.  Many  converted  and  unconverted  Egbas  in 
Sierra  Leone  now  flocked  to  Abbeokuta,  and  the  work  has 
steadily  proceeded  in  the  country  till  the  present  time, 
notwithstanding  two  harassing  persecutions  against 
the  native  Christians.  The  W esleyans  also  soon  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Abbeokuta,  and  have  continued. to 
labor  there  with  success.  The  different  Wesleyan  and 
Episcopal  stations  at  present  number  about  six  hundred 
communicants.  A  great  many  people  have  abandoned 
idolatry.  Mr.  Crowther  and  Mr.  King,  both  natives,  have 
translated  several  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
which  are  handsomely  printed  and  bound  in  separate 
books.  Hundreds  of  people  have  learned  to  read  their 
native  tongue,  and  the  whole  tribe  has  advanced  con- 
siderably towards  civilization. 

Let  us  look  now  at  the  steps  by  which  God  has  con- 


112 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ducted  this  work  :  the  abolition  of  royalty  by  the  Egbas  ; 
their  consequent  civil  wars ;  the  great  rocks  at  Abbeo- 
kuta  ;  the  refugees,  who  sought  them  for  shelter  ;  the  rise 
of  Shodekkeh ;  his  victories  ;  the  re-capture  of  slaves  ; 
their  conversion  and  return  to  their  country ;  the  move- 
ments of  missionaries ;  and  several  other  events  in  this 
history  which  remain  to  be  related.  Who  would  have 
predicted  that  the  annihilation  of  the  Egba  kingdom, 
forty  years  ago,  would  have  led  to  such  results  as  we 
now  behold  in  this  part  of  Africa  ? 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE.  113 


CHAPTER  X. 

BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 

EVILS  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  —  OPPOSITION  OF  NATIVES  TO  SLAVE  WARS  — 
THE  DAHOMY  ARMY  —  BATTLE  AT  ABBEOKUTA  —  BADAGRY  BURNT  — 
LAGOS  TAKEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH. 

Well-meaning  people,  who  advocate  a  restoration  of 
the  slave  trade,  have  considered  but  one  side  of  the 
question.  The  old  plea  of  our  ancestors,  that  the  ne- 
groes are  national  vagrants,  who  ought  to  be  arrested 
by  authority  of  law,  and  criminals,  who  deserve  slavery 
as  a  punishment  for  their  crimes,  is  correct  in  part  only. 
Many  of  the  interior  tribes  are  far  from  being  vagrants, 
or  criminals.  Besides  this,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to 
justify  the  wars  by  which  the  slave  trade  is  supported. 
The  annihilation  of  the  Egba  nation,  is  a  case  in  point. 
It  is  true,  that  these  wars,  except  those  of  abominable 
Dahomy,  were  not  generally  commenced  for  the  sake  of 
capturing  slaves;  but  once  begun,  for  political  reasons, 
they  have  commonly  been  nourished  by  the  slave  trade. 
.At  present  there  is  peace  on  the  Slave  Coast,  and  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  people  to  maintain  it;  but  if  the 
slave  trade  were  restored,  every  petty  war  would  be 
protracted  as  much  as  possible,  for  the  sake  of  enrich- 
ing the  victorious  party. 

I  have  counted  the  sites  of  eighteen  desolated  towns 
within  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  between  Badagry  and 


114 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Abbeokuta — the  legitimate  result  of  the  slave  trade. 
The  whole  Yoruba  country  is  full  of  depopulated  towns, 
some  of  which  were  even  larger  than  Abbeokuta  is  at 
present.  Of  all  the  places  visited  by  the  Landers,  only 
Ishakki,  Igboho,  Ikishi,  and  a  few  villages  remain. 
Ijenna  (Janna)  was  destroyed  a  few  weeks  after  my 
arrival  in  the  country.  Other  and  still  larger  towns  in 
the  same  region,  have  lately  fallen.  At  one  of  these 
called  Oke-Oddan,  the  Dahomy  army  killed  and  cap- 
tured about  20,000  people,  on  which  occasion  the  king 
presented  Domingo,  the  Brazilian  slaver,  with  600 
slaves.  The  whole  number  of  people  destroyed  in  this 
section  of  country,  within  the  last  fifty  years,  can  not  be 
less  than  five  hundred  thousand. 

The  Egbas  and  Yorubas,  who  were  the  principal  ac- 
tors and  sufferers  in  the  merciless  wars,  were  the  most 
civilized  and  peaceable  tribes  in  the  country;  remark- 
able for  their  love  of  agriculture  and  traffic,  and  among 
the  last  people  in  Africa  whom  we  could  suppose  capa- 
ble of  such  enormities  as  they  persisted  in  committing 
for  a  space  of  forty  years.  Civil  war  was  the  cause  of 
their  madness.  The  brutish  Dahomies,  formerly  the 
tributaries  of  Yoruba,  entered  into  the  strife  from  other 
motives,  the  love  of  rum  and  tobacco.  At  the  time  of 
my  arrival  in  the  country,  many  of  the  Egbas  and  Yoru- 
bas, looking  round  on  their  ruined  country,  felt  sick  of 
war  and  the  slave  trade,  and  sighed  for  a  return  of  their 
former  peace  and  prosperity.  Hence  Badagry,  which 
was  full  of  Egbas  and  Yorubas,  had  declared  against 
the  slavers,  and  opened  her  doors  to  lawful  commerce 
and  the  Gospel.  Hence,  also,  Shodekkeh  had  invited 
the  missionaries  to  Abbeokuta.    The  country  was  now 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE.  115 


approaching  a  second  crisis.  The  whole  population  was 
divided  into  two  parties;  one  in  favor  of  the  slave  trade, 
and  of  course  opposed  to  missionaries  and  lawful  com- 
merce, and  the  other  opposed  to  the  slave  trade  as  con- 
trary to  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  It  was  easy 
to  foresee,  even  then,  that  this  question  must  be  decided 
in  the  battle  field. 

The  main  issue — the  slave  trade  or  no  slave  trade — 
was  complicated  with  several  others,  and  these,  though 
confessedly  of  minor  importance,  were  set  forward  as 
the  prominent  causes  of  the  quarrel.  Even  the  negroes 
of  Guinea  were  ashamed  to  make  war  expressly  in  de- 
fence of  the  slave  trade.  They  sought  other  pretexts. 
Some  years  before  this  date,  Akitoye,  the  king  of  Lagos, 
had  been  dethroned  by  his  nephew,  Kosokkoh,  who  was 
now  amassing  great  stores  of  wealth  by  an  active  traf- 
fic with  Brazilian  slavers.  Akitoye,  who  was  opposed 
to  the  slave  trade,  was  an  exile  at  Badagry,  where  he 
was  protected  by  Abbeokuta.  Hatred  of  Akitoye,  and 
fears  for  the  safety  of  the  slave  trade,  prompted  Kosok- 
koh to  resolve  on  the  destruction  of  Badagry.  By  way 
of  preparation  for  this  event,  he  opened  communication 
with  the  slave  trade  party  in  the  town,  who  now  amount- 
ed to  more  than  half  of  the  population,  and  had  a  daring 
balogun  (or  general)  for  their  leader.  At  some  con- 
venient time,  a  party  of  Lagos  men  were  to  attack  Bad- 
agry, and  the  slave  trade  party  in  the  town  were  then 
to  fall  upon  Akitoye  and  his  friends. 

They  had  no  doubts  of  being  able  to  subdue  Badagry, 
but  they  knew  that  scarcely  ten  days  would  elapse  before 
their  new  possessions  would  be  assaulted  by  the  Egbas  ; 
and  the  Egbas  at  this  time  were  terrible  enemies.  Ab- 


116 


CENTRAL  AFRICA* 


beokuta  must  fall  or  the  slave  trade  "must  perish  ;  and 
Lagos,  with  all  her  allies,  could  not  venture  to  attack 
the  Egbas  in  their  strong  hold.  The  king  of  Dahomy 
now  remembered  that  the  Egbas  had  worsted  him  in 
the  fight  before  Adu,  and  he  vowed  to  be  revenged  on 
the  whole  tribe,  particularly  for  the  loss  of  his  royal 
chair.  For  twenty-five  years  the  numerous  regular 
army*  of  Dahomy,  had  been  the  scourge  and  terror  of 
the  whole  surrounding  country,  always  at  war  and 
generally  victorious.  King  Gezo,  who  regarded  his 
own  Abomy  as  a  large  town,  had  no  conception  of  such 
an  immense  city  as  Abbeokuta,  and  expected  to  over- 
whelm it  with  his  troops  as  he  had  lately  done  Oke-Od- 
dan.  On  my  arrival  at  Badagry  in  1850,  I  was  in- 
formed that  all  these  plans  were  matured.  Kosokkoh 
and  his  allies  were  to  subdue  Badagry.  Gezo  was  to 
make  a  desolation  of  Abbeokuta,  the  merchants  and 
missionaries  were  to  be  expelled,  and  the  slave  trade 
was  to  be  restored  to  the  whole  country. 

In  the  autumn  of  1850,  Consul  Beecroft  visited  Abo- 
my, and  the  king  told  him  to  remove  the  white  people 
from  Abbeokuta,  for  he  had  a  quarrel  with  the  Egb&s 
about  his  royal  chair,  and  was  determined  to  destroy 
their  town  during  the  approaching  dry  season.  Early 
in  the  following  January,  Mr.  Beecroft  came  to  Abbeo- 
kuta, and  met  the  chiefs  and  people  in  a  grand  council. 
After  relating  all  that  he  had  seen  and  heard  at  Abomy, 
and  reproving  the  Egbas  for  some  of  their  misdeeds,  an 
old  man  was  put  forward  by  the  chiefs  to  answer  the 
consul's  speech.   The  appearance,  language  and  manner 

*  Nearly  half  this  army  is  composed  of  women,  trained  to  war  from 
their  youth. 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE.  117 

of  the  old  man  struck  me  with  admiration.  He  replied, 
that  as  for  the  persecution  of  native  Christians,  it  should 
never  occur  again  at  Abbeokuta.  As  for  the  slave 
trade,  he  affirmed  that  their  ancestors  were  farmers  ; 
they  never  sold  slaves,  neither  did  the  Egbas  desire  to  do 
so  at  present.  As  to  the  Dahomy's  affair,  he  said,  "When 
our  father  (Shodekkeh)  was  alive,  the  king  of  Dahomy 
professed  to  be  our  friend,  and  we  exchanged  presents. 
But  when  our  father  was  dead,  he  turned  against  us. 
It  is  true  that  we  fought  his  army  and  took  away  his 
chair,  but  we  did  not  go  into  his  country  to  attack  him. 
He  came  to  us." 

On  his  return  to  Badagry,  the  consul  was  informed 
that  Akitoye  was  a  foe  to  the  slave  trade  and  a  friend  to 
the  English ;  that  he  was  the  rightful  king  of  Lagos, 
whom  Kosokkoh  had  expelled  ;  and  that  for  these  rea- 
sons, he  was  in  daily  jeopardy  of  being  murdered, 
which  would  lead  to  civil  war  in  Badagry.  Under  all 
these  circumstances,  the  consul  thought  best  to  remove 
Akitoye  to  a  place  of  safety  in  Fernando  Po,  and  to  re- 
port the  whole  case  to  the  British  government,  as  one 
which  required  the  interference  of  the  African  squadron. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February,  1851,  it  was  no  longer 
a  question  whether  the  king  of  Dahomy  would  attack 
Abbeokuta.  His  army,  the  largest  perhaps  that  he  had 
ever  commanded,  was  advancing  through  the  Iketu 
kingdom,  molesting  no  one,  intent  on  the  single  object 
of  the  expedition.  The  Egbas  were  actively  engaged 
in  making  preparations  for  the  contest.  Patrols  were 
constantly  on  duty  in  every  part  of  the  town  and  sur- 
rounding country.  Several  times  we  had  false  alarms 
at  night,  when  the  women  made  the  air  ring  with,  the 


118 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


shrill  cry  of  "Ele!  Ele!" — to  arms!  to  arms!  Christians 
prayed  and  heathens  made  sacrifices.  For  my  own  part 
I  felt  intensely  interested  in  the  result  of  the  conflict. 
If  the  Egbas  should  be  defeated,  they  had  no  place  of 
refuge;  for  the  Ijebus  on  the  east  and  the  Yorubas  on 
the  north  were  all  unfriendly.  Besides,  the  fall  of  Ab- 
beokuta  would  totally  blight  the  present  prospects  of 
missions  to  Central  Africa. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  March,  the  scouts 
brought  news  that  the  army  was  approaching  the  city. 
I  exhorted  the  people  to  stand  firm,  to  reserve  their  fire, 
and  take  good  aim.  Ogunbonna,  one  of  the  baloguns, 
replied,  "You  will  see  that  we  shall  fight."  Toward 
noon,  the  Egbas,  amounting  perhaps  to  15,000  men,  all 
armed  with  guns,  marched  out  at  the  Badagry  gate,  to 
meet  the  enemy.  There  was  no  noise  and  no  gasconad- 
ing, after  the  manner  of  the  Golahs,  but  I  could  plain- 
ly see  in  their  firm  and  solemn  countenance,  as  thou- 
sands after  thousands  passed  by,  that  they  were  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion.  They  were  separated  into 
three  parties  ;  the  first  proceeding  half  a  mile  to  the 
ford  on  the  Badagry  road,  the  second,  under  Ogunbonna, 
crossing  the  river  near  the  wall,  and  the  third  remaining 
not  far  from  the  gate.  Soon  after  we  saw  the  Dahomies 
advancing  across  the  prairie  in  heavy  squadrons,  with 
flying  colors.  We  heard  afterwards  that  they  numbered 
10,000  men  and  6,000  women.  They  divided  into  two 
parties,  one  coming  forward  to  the  ford,  and  the  other, 
led  by  the  king,  proceeding  over  the  plain  to  attack 
Ogunbonna.  When  sufficiently  near,  they  made  a  fu- 
rious charge,  according  to  their  manner,  and  the  Egbas 
gave  way.    I  saw  Ogunbonna's  division  retreating  rap- 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


119 


idly  towards  the  river,  where  they  would  be  embarrass- 
ed by  the  rocks  and  deep  pools  in  the  stream,  and  re- 
quested the  division  near  the  wall  to  run  down  and 
cover  them  while  crossing.  They  obeyed  with  alacrity, 
but  Ogunbonna  rallied,  and  the  battle  began  in  earnest. 
By  this  time  the  party  at  the  ford  were  retreating  upon 
us  with  the  utmost  precipitation,  closely  pursued  by 
the  Dahomies.  Many  of  the  Egbas  who  had  remained 
about  the  gate  fled  into  the  town  and  disappeared.  I 
attempted  in  vain  to  stop  them.  "Why  don't  you 
stand  and  fight  ?"  said  I  to  one  of  the  fugitives.  "Hold 
your  tongue,"  he  replied,  and  went  his  way.  The  party 
from  the  ford  were  pouring  in  at  the  gates,  and  I  feared 
that  they  would  not  rally,  but  most  of  them  took  their 
station  promptly  at  the  wall,  and  others  defended  the 
gates  with  guns  and  swords  so  hotly,  that  some  of  the 
enemy  were  cut  down  in  the  entrance.  It  was  soon 
evident  that  the  town  was  safe.  The  guns  were  roar- 
ing along  the  wall  for  a  mile  or  more,  and  Ogunbonna 
still  stood  firm  on  the  prairie.  I  hastened  to  Mr.  Town- 
send's  station  to  tell  the  news,  and  found  the  missiona- 
ries on  a  large  rock,  surveying  the  battle  through  a 
telescope. 

On  my  return  to  the  wall  after  dinner,*  I  found  Ogun- 
bonna's  men  resting  quietly  on  the  battle  field,  and  the 
troops  of  the  king,  apparently  ill  at  ease,  were  drawn  up 
at  a  safe  distance.  There  was  still  occasional  sharp  skir- 
mishing, sometimes  at  close  quarters,  about  the  Badagry 
gate,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  enemy  were  sitting 

*  An  article  in  a  late  number  of  Harper's  Magazine  contains  two 
mistakes  :  I  did  not  drill  the  Egbas,  and  my  acquaintance  with  the 
Mexicans  was  several  years  anterior  to  the  late  Mexican  war. 


120 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


half  way  between  the  gate  and  the  river.  A  resolute 
charge  of  the  Egbas  at  this  juncture,  might  have  been 
very  disastrous  to  the  Dahornies,  but  it  must  have 
been  really  resolute,  and  withal  well  conducted,  to  be 
successful  ;  and  for  these  reasons  it  was  best  to  let 
things  take  their  course.  Both  parties  slept  on  the  field. 
During  the  night  the  king  moved  off,  and  was  followed 
by  the  main  body  of  his  army  about  day  break.  They 
were  closely  pursued  by  the  Egbas,  with  a  continual 
roar  of  musketry,  till  the  sound  died  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. At  Ishagga,  fifteen  miles  distant,  the  Dahornies 
faced  about,  and  made  an  obstinate  stand,  but  were 
again  put  to  flight.  While  this  was  going  on,  Mr.  Crow- 
ther  and  myself  rode  over  the  battle  field,  which  pre- 
sented a  sad  spectacle.  According  to  the  report  of  two 
men  sent  out  by  Mr.  Townsend,  1209  of  the  enemy  were 
left  on  the  field.  Their  whole  loss  on  the  two  days  was 
probably  2,000  slain  and  several  hundred  prisoners. 
The  Egbas'  loss  at  the  wall  was  not  serious,  consideriug 
the  magnitude  and  length  of  the  battle.  This  affair 
spoiled  the  terrible  name  of  the  Dahornies.  Not  long 
afterward  the  king  made  a  treaty  with  the  English  for 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  his  dominions,  and  his 
subsequent  wars  have  been  of  little  moment. 

The  signal  defeat  of  Gezo  was  not  sufficient  to  deter 
Kosokkoh  and  his  party  from  their  design  of  subduing 
Badagry.  They  succeeded  in  burning  the  town  a  few 
weeks  after  the  battle  of  Abbeokuta,  but  the  slave  trade 
party,  though  considerably  stronger  than  their  oppo- 
nents, were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  their  leader. 

In  November,  1851,  having  at  last  obtained  permis- 
sion to  visit  Yoruba,  I  went  down  to  Badagry  to  purchase 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE.  121 

supplies  for  the  journey.  I  found  the  site  of  this  once 
populous  town  now  covered  with  fields  of  Indian  corn, 
the  property  of  about  one  thousand  persons,  who  were 
living  in  rudely  constructed  huts.  Two  or  three  days 
after  my  arrival,  Badagry  was  visited  by  Consul  Bee- 
croft,  and  several  naval  officers,  who  were  bound  for 
Lagos  with  a  part  of  the  British  squadron  "  to  make  a 
treaty"  with  Kosokkoh  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave- 
trade.  Kosokkoh,  on  his  part,  advise  dand  assisted  by 
several  Brazilian  and  Portuguese  slavers,  had  prepared 
the  articles  of  the  treaty  in  the  form  of  two  or  three 
dozen  heavy  cannons,  with  plenty  of  powder  and  ball. 
One  of  the  armed  steamers  and  all  the  gun  boats  were 
to  sail  up  the  river  to  Lagos  to  conduct  the  negotiation. 
The  ex-king  Akitoye  was  present  to  sign  the  ultimatum, 
and  thenceforward  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  Lagos. 
There  was  to  be  no  fighting,  however,  unless  Kosokkoh 
should  fire  on  the  English  "  visitors  f  for  they  alleged 
that  an  unprovoked  attack  on  an  African  king  might 
give  umbrage  to  the  French  ;  but  no  one  of  course  could 
censure  the  consul  and  officers  for  defending  themselves, 
if  fired  on  when  they  approached  the  town,  as  they  in- 
tended to  do  with  a  white  flag.  Notwithstanding  the 
diplomatic  character  of  this  expedition,  I  felt  consider- 
able desire  to  accompany  it,  but  was  prevented  from 
asking  permission  to  go  by  two  considerations.  In  the 
first  place,  I  was  fearful  that  I  might  come  to  be  re- 
cognized on  this  coast  as  an  amateur  ;  and  then  I  was 
still  more  fearful  that  Lagos  would  not  prove  to  be  quite 
so  manageable  as  the  officers  expected.  They  had  evi- 
dently not  reflected  that  six  or  eight  thousand  sturdy 
natives,  backed  by  a  dozen  Europeans,  and  well  provided 
6 


122 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


with  large  and  small  arms,  might  happen  to  defend  their 
houses  and  wives  and  children  with  something  like 
vigor.  After  the  ships  were  gone,  I  remarked  to  some 
of  the  English  in  Badagry,  "  Perhaps  it  will  not  be  so, 
and  I  do  not  affirm  that  it  will,  but  I  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  the  English  get  whipped  to-morrow."  Of 
course  this  suggestion  was  hooted. 

Before  nine  o'clock  next  morning  the  negotiation  com- 
menced :  bang-boom — we  had  been  listening  for  it 
some  time.  "  The  English/'  said  I,  "  are  abolishing  the 
slave-trade."  Presently  the  conflict  deepened.  There 
must  have  been  forty  or  fifty  cannons.  They  were  still 
thundering  away  at  twelve  o'clock,  at  one,  at  two  ;  and 
by  this  time  I  began  to  feel  decidedly  uneasy.  If  the 
negroes  had  fought  so  long  they  would  fight  to  the  end — 
the  day  was  lost.  And  what  next  ?  Why  perhaps  in 
due  time  an  overwhelming  swarm  of  furious  savages 
would  be  in  Badagry  to  take  vengeance  on  the  English 
merchants  and  missionaries.  In  such  a  case,  my  pres- 
ence here  could  be  of  no  advantage  to  any  one  else, 
and  it  might  be  very  inconvenient  to  myself.  I  should 
think  myself  happy  if  I  could  get  far  enough  the  start 
of  the  assailants  to  hide  in  the  swamp  among  the  cro- 
codiles, boa  constrictors,  leopards  and  hyenas.  Or  even 
if  there  should  be  no  danger  at  Badagry,  the  people  of 
Adu  and  Otta  were  known  to  be  friends  of  Kosokkoh, 
and  if  I  should  attempt  to  pass  through  their  country 
on  the  heel  of  his  victory,  they  would  shoot  me  for  an 
Englishman.  The  people  of  Adu  had  already  laid  bul- 
lets in  the  road  to  indicate  that  no  one  could  pass  that 
way  without  danger  of  being  shot.  To  remain  at  Ba- 
dagry for  a  month  or  two  after  Kosokkoh's  victory  was 


BREAKING  UP  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE.  123 

intolerable,  for  I  was  now  ready  to  proceed  to  Yoruba, 
and  some  of  the  people  there  would  soon  expect  to  see 
me.  On  the  whole,  I  thought  best  to  beat  a  precipitate 
retreat  from  Badagry,  and  pass  through  the  Adu  bush 
while  the  people  were  still  frightened  by  the  roar  of  the 
cannon,  and  ignorant  as  to  the  result  of  the  battle. 
After  a  little  delay  I  found  some  Egba  acquaintances 
who  were  willing  to  incur  the  dangers  of  the  road,  and 
we  hastened  away  from  Badagiy.  It  was  now  so  late 
in  the  day  that  we  were  obliged  to  sleep  at  Mo  village, 
but  the  people  there  were  friendly.  Early  next  morn- 
ing the  cannonade  was  renewed  at  Lagos.  Without 
thinking  of -the  danger  to  the  combatants,  I  was  so 
selfish  as  to  be  glad  of  this,  because  it  would  frighten 
the  people  of  Adu  and  Otta,  and  might  deter  them  from 
shooting  me.  Still  I  had  a  suspicion  that  only  one  party 
was  now  firing  and  that  Kosokkoh  was  rejoicing  over 
his  victory.  We  hurried  on.  Near  to  Add  we  met  a 
small  party  of  men  in  the  bush,  but  they  passed  us  in 
silence.  The  bullets  had  been  removed  from  the  road. 
That  same  day  we  passed  through  the  Otta  country,  and 
breathed  freely  on  Egba  soil.  Soon  after  my  arrival  at 
Abbeokuta,  the  news  was  brought  and  confirmed  that 
the  English  had  been  defeated  at  Lagos.  About  thirty 
days  after,  however,  they  returned  and,  succeeded  by 
hard  fighting  in  driving  Kosokkoh  and  his  party  from 
the  town.  They  escaped  to  the  Ijebu  country,  and  con- 
tinued hostile  for  about  four  years,  when  they  made 
peace  with  the  English  and  agreed  to  abandon  the  slave 
trade.  Akitoye  was  re-installed  at  Lagos,  and  he  reign- 
ed till  September,  1853,  when  he  died  and  left  the  king, 
dom  to  Dosomu,  his  son,    English  merchants  and  mis- 


124 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


sionaries  entered  the  town  immediately  after  the  expul- 
sion of  Kosokkoh,  and  an  active  trade  soon  sprung  up 
with  Abbeokuta.  At  present  all  the  countries  on  the 
Slave  Coast  are  in  peace*  and  prosperity.  Badagry 
hardly  exists,  but  Lagos  and  Abbeokuta  are  increasing 
in  population.  The  missions  are  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition,  and  the  Gospel  is  so  much  respected  that  king 
Dosomu,  at  the  request  of  Consul  Campbell  and  the 
missionaries,  has  promulgated  a  law  forbidding  all  his 
subjects  to  labor,  or  to  beat  drums  and  fire  guns  on 
Sunday.  This  law  is  respected  by  the  natives,  and  im- 
mediately after  it  was  proclaimed  all  the  merchants 
who  had  hitherto  labored  on  Sunday,  gave  up  the  prac- 
tice, except  one,  a  black  from  Cape  Coast  Castle. 


*  On  the  2nd  inst.  (Jan.  1857),  I  received  letters  from  Africa,  stat- 
ing that  the  king  of  Dahomy  has  sent  word  to  the  Egbas  to  prepare  for 
another  attack  this  winter ;  and  that  Kosokkoh  has  given  a  similar 
warning  to  Mr.  Campbell,  the  English  consul  at  Lagos.  An  Egba 
army  is  lying  at  Otta  to  overawe  the  disalFected  people  in  that  quarter. 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  IKETU. 


125 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Atf  ATTEMPT  TO  PASS  THROUGH  IKETU  IN  1850. 

DEPARTURE  FROM  ABBEOKUTA  —  IBARA  —  AIBO  —  AN  ALBINO  —  PREACH- 
ING—  STRICTURES  ON  —  SUPERSTITIOUS  FEARS  OF  WHITE  MEN  —  A 
FINE  COUNTRY — ROADSIDE  MARKET  —  YERIWA  RIVER  —  VILLAGES  — 
LTALE  —  RETURN  TO  ABBEOKUTA  —  ROBBERS. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Abbeokuta,  in  August,  1850, 
I  applied  to  Sagbua,  the  head  chief  or  president  of  the 
Egbas,  for  permission  to  pass  through  to  Bohoo.  At 
first  he  was  evidently  inclined  to  grant  my  request,  but 
he  was  reminded  of  a  difficulty — the  English  missiona- 
ries had  been  refused  permission  to  penetrate  into  the 
interior,  because  the  Egbas  desired  to  retain  them  at 
Abbeokuta  ;  and  now  if  Sagbua  should  permit  me  as  a 
stranger,  in  whom  he  had  no  special  interest,  to  pass 
by  the  first  comers  into  the  country,  they  would  have 
been  offended.*  Sagbua  soon  changed  his  tone,  and 
declared  that  I  must  wait  till  the  wars  should  cease,  so 
that  I  might  travel  in  safety.  The  proposed  journey 
might  have  been  perilous,  and  I  accepted  the  old  chief's 
excuse  without  pretending  to  perceive  the  real  cause  of 
his  refusal.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  I  teased  him 
every  now  and  then  with  importuities  to  let  me  go, 
and  took  occasion  to  make  the  impression,  which  was 


*  It  is  possible  that  Sagbua  was  also  afraid  of  offending  the  Yorubas 
by  permitting  a  white  man  to  enter  the  country. 


126 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


really  true,  that  I  would  choose  to  remain  at  Abbeokuta 
ten  years  rather  than  be  foiled  in  my  attempts  to 
proceed. 

As  a  compromise  between  my  desires  and  those  of  his 
advisers,  or  for  some  other  reason,  Sagbua  readily 
agreed  that  I  might  visit  Iketu,  the  capital  of  the  Iketu 
kingdom,  three  days  (65  miles)* west  of  Abbeokuta,  and 
two  east  of  Abomy.  I  gladly  accepted  this  offer, 
scarcely  doubting  that  I  could  pass  on  from  Iketu  to 
Igboho. 

Having  obtained  a  messenger  from  Sagbua  to  the 
king  of  Iketu,  I  departed  from  Abbeokuta  on  the  9th  of 
September,  about  three  weeks  after  my  arrival,  carrying 
all-  my  luggage,  because  I  did  not  expect  to  return. 
Our  first  day's  travel  was  only  nine  miles  to  the  populous 
village  of  Ibara,  which  is  surrounded,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  country,  by  a  mud  wall,  and  a  ditch.  My 
guide,  Agieh,  conducted  me  into  the  market-place,  where 
I  sat  down  under  a  large  and  shady  wild  fig-tree — (very 
unlike  our  species)  and  was  presently  surrounded  by  a 
suffocating  crowd  of  men,  women  and  children.  This 
thronging  of  curious  gazers,  who  have  the  utmost  dis- 
regard of  heat  and  dust,  is  one  of  the  annoyances  to 
which  travelers  must  submit  in  every  part  of  Africa. 
But  the  people  are  always  respectful,  and  seldom  fail  to 
scamper  away  as  soon  as  we  approach  them.  They  have 
a  particular  aversion  to  looking  a  white  man  full  in  the 
face,  being  afraid,  I  am  told,  of  the  "  evil  eye."  I  had 
not  been  sitting  long,  before  the  chief  sent  to  call  me 
into  his  house,  where  I  found  a  low,  narrow  and  dark 
room  provided  for  myself,  and  a  spacious  piazza  for  my 
attendants.     The  crowd  poured  in  upon  us  without 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  IKETU. 


127 


•mercy,  and  continued  bawling  and  laughing  and  some- 
times pushing  each  other  over,  till  the  darkness  drove 
them  away.  Notwithstanding  the  uproar,  I  managed 
to  talk  something  about  religion,  employing  my  boy  Sam 
as  interpreter. 

Early  next  morning*,  we  pursued  our  journey  through 
an  unwooded,  but  well  watered  and  tolerably  productive 
country.  The  few  stones  we  saw,  were  clay  stone,  the 
gneiss  and  granite  having  disappeared  before  we  reached 
Ibara.  In  the  forenoon  we  passed  by  Ilewu  and  Ishagga. 
We  met  a  small  drove  of  heavy-built  black  hogs,  on  the 
way  from  Aibo  to  the  Abbeokuta  market.  In  a  farm  at 
a  distance  from  any  town,  I  saw  several  bunches  of 
large  snail  shells,*  suspended  from  the  boughs  of  small 
trees,  to  frighten  away  the  monkeys  and  antelopes,  by 
their  jingling  when  shaken  by  the  wind.  We  arrived  in 
the  afternoon  at  the  small  village  of  Ilugu,  which  was 
destroyed  by  war  some  years  ago,  but  is  now  rebuilding. 
In  front  of  a  little  orisha  house,  or  temple,  were  two 
wooden  pillars,  the  middle  section  of  which  was  carved 
in  the  form  of  a  woman,  in  a  kneeling  posture.  In 
strolling  through  the  forest  near  the  village,  I  lighted 
on  a  flock  of  guinea  hens,  different  from  any  I  had  seen 
before,  their  heads  being  covered  with  a  tuft  of  silky 
black  feathers.  This  species  is  incapable  of  domesti- 
cation. 

Leaving  Ilugu,  we  passed  over  an  elevated  and  nearly 
level  prairie,  which  stretched  as  far  northward  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  This  fine  country  might  nourish  thou- 
sands of  cattle,  where  not  one  is  to  be  seen.    But  why 

*  These  snails,  which  are  reckoned  good  eating,  are  frequently  as 
large  as  one's  fist. 


128 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


should  the  natives  raise  droves  of  cattle,  when  they  do 
not  know  at  what  time  their  property  and  themselves 
may  fall  a  prey  to  the  ruthless  marauder  ?  When  the 
Landers  passed  over  this  very  plateau  twenty  years  ago, 
the  surrounding  country  was  full  of  populous  towns, 
scarcely  one  of  which  is  now  standing.  The  houses  are 
in  ruins,  and  the  people  are  in  Brazil  and  the  grave.  As 
we  descended  to  the  west,  Sam  exclaimed  in  the  peculiar 
English  of  Sierra  Leone,  "  See  Aibo  !"  At  first  I  could 
scarcely  distinguish  the  brown  grass  thatched  roofs  from 
the  prairie.  Soon  after  I  heard  a  roaring  like  that  of 
waves  dashing  on  the  beach — "the  voice  of  many  waters, 
the  voice  of  a  multitude" — and  Sam  said,  "They  got 
market."  Passing  through  the  gate  we  walked  three  or 
four  hundred  yards  through  a  forest  along  a  broad  road, 
lined  with  numerous  little  temples,  some  of  which  they 
said  were  dedicated  to  the  devil.  Then  fording  a  stream 
where  civilization  wrould  place  a  bridge,  we  ascended 
through  a  crowd  of  gaping  natives,  into  the  populous 
town  of  Aibo.  As  we  proceeded  along  the  street,  to  the 
house  of  the  second  chief,  (or  lieutenant  governor)  I 
saw  an  albino,*  or  white  negro,  running  rapidly  up  a 
cross  way  to  intercept  us.  I  had  scarcely  entered  the 
house  and  taken  a  seat,  in  the  piazza,  before  he  came 
and  prostrated  himself  flat  on  the  ground,  according  to 
their  most  respectful  manner  of  salutation.  Some  time 
after  dark,  finding  that  he  still  lingered  around  us,  I 
directed  Sam  to  inform  him  that  I  would  tell  him  some- 
thing about  the  word  of  God.  He  appeared  to  be  very 
glad,  and  replied,  "That  is  what  I  have  been  waiting 

*  Albinoes  are  born  of  black  parents,  and  their  children  are  black. 
They  are  not  a  race,  as  some  have  supposed. 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  IKETU.  129 

for  all  this  time."  He  then  proceeded  to  say,  that  he 
worshipped  his  orisha  (idols)  as  his  fathers  had  taught 
him,  but  he  knew  that  Shango,  (their  Jupiter,)  could  not 
hear  him,  and  that  Eshu  (the  devil),  could  not  save  him. 
If  he  lived  at  Abbeokuta,  he  would  learn  the  word  of 
God.  One  night  he  dreamed  that  a  white  man  came  to 
his  town,  (near  Aibo,)  to  teach  them,  and  that,  said  he, 
"is  the  reason  I  was  so  glad  to  see  you."  I  preached 
to  him  for  some  time,  ^ving  him  the  prominent  points 
in  the  history  and  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  taking  care  to 
use  very  simple  words  which  my  interpreter  could  not 
fail  to  understand.*  The  crowd  of  people  in  the  piazza 
and  in  the  yard,  listened  with  attention,  but  made  no 
remarks.  The  albino  said  "My  heart  holds  all  you 
have  told  me,"  and  went  away,  since  which  I  have  not 
seen  him.  The  owner  of  the  house,  who  was  absent  on 
my  arrival,  now  sent  for  me.  During  our  conversation, 
he  remarked,  "I  was  standing  in  the  crowd  and  heard 
all  that  you  said  about  the  word  of  God.  It  is  very 
good,  but  the  Yorubas  are  so  bad,  that  they  will  not 
do  it." 


*  Preaching  is  too  often  lost  to  the  heathen,  through  the  complicated 
faults  of  missionaries.  Instead  of  coming  pointedly  to  the  facts  of 
the  Gospel,  some  of  them  must  needs  deal  out  their  trashy  ethico-met- 
aphysical  disquisitions,  which  are  odious  at  home  and  abominable  folly 
in  Africa.  Then  they  preach  at  the  people  from  year  to  year,  through 
interpreters,  rather  than  undergo  the  toil  of  learning  the  native  tongue ; 
and  finally,  they  utter  great  swelling  words  which  the  ignorant  inter- 
preter never  heard  before  in  his  life.  Only  think  of  a  man  perforating 
an  interpreter  who  can  barely  read  English,  with  such  phrases  as  "  im- 
mutable principles,"  or  "  the  ineffable  effulgence  of  the  celestial 
world." 

6* 


130 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Since  most  of  the  towns  through  which  the  Landers 
passed,  were  soon  after  destroyed  by  war,  the  people  of 
Western  Yoruba  became  firmly  persuaded  that  a  like 
calamity  would  befal  any  town  which  a  white  man  may 
enter.  This  absurd  opinion  was  an  article  of  sincere 
faith  at  Aibo.  On  hearing  of  my  arrival,  the  chiefs  and 
elders  were  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  their  town,  and 
called  Agieh  before  their  assembly  to  show  cause  why 
he  had  brought  me  among  them.  An  aJari  (observer, 
spy,)  of  the  king  of  Iketu,  who  happened  to  be  present, 
advocated  our  cause,  and  we  succeeded  in  leaving  Aibo 
in  peace  on  the  third  day  after  our  arrival. 

The  country  west  of  Aibo,  was  beautiful  and  well 
cultivated.  Seeing  small  parcels  of  fruit  and  other 
little  articles  lying  beside  the  road,  I  asked  Sam  what 
it  meant.  "De  put  da  for  sell."  "  Well,  where  are  the 
owners  ?  "  "  Dunno,  sa,  in  de  farm  some  wha."  "  Don't 
travelers  steal  these  things  ?  99  I  inquired.  "  No  sa, 
de  cant  steal  um."  In  some  places  I  saw  a  few  cow- 
ries left  by  purchasers;  and  was  so  pleased  with  this 
novel  kind  of  market,  that  I  became  a  purchaser  myself, 
leaving  the  cowries,  which  Sam,  who  knew  the  signs, 
declared  to  be  the  price. 

At  Ishala,  we  were  met  by  a  deputation  from  the 
chief,  who  said  I  must  not  enter  the  town.  Passing- 
through  a  fertile  prairie  country,  watered  by  two 
branches  of  the  Yeriwa  river,  we  saw  Ijaka-oke  and 
Ijakaodo,  on  our  left,  and  arrived  at  Ijale,  in  the  Iketu 
kingdom,  about  sunset.  The  watchmen,  who  were 
sewing  cloth  in  the  gate,  received  me  courteously,  but 
the  chiefs  and  people  were  so  fearful  of  the  evils  which 
might  follow  my  entrance  into  their  town,  that  I  was 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  IKETU. 


131 


obliged  to  sit  in  the  gate  till  eight  o'clock  at  night  bo- 
fore  they  would  decide  to  receive  me.  At  first  they 
treated  me  with  great  coolness,  but  after  conversing 
with  me  for  two  or  three  days,  and  hearing  all  about 
my  object  in  coming,  they  became  very  friendly.  In 
the  mean  time  they  had  informed  the  king  of  my  arri- 
val, and  he  sent  messengers  to  see  me.  I  explained 
the  reasons  why  I  had  not  sent  to  the  king  from  Ab- 
beokuta, told  my  Gospel  message  to  them  again  and 
again,  gave  them  little  presents,  and  begged  them  to 
influence  the  king  to  let  me  proceed  to  Iketu.  Two  or 
three  days  after  they  returned  and  informed  me  that 
the  king  himself  was  anxious  to  see  me,  but  the  chiefs 
and  people  were  utterly  opposed  to  my  coming,  lest  it 
might  cause  the  destruction  of  their  town  ;  and  con- 
sequently, that  the  king  desired  me  to  leave  his  coun- 
try and  return  to  Abbeokuta.  Nothing  remained  but 
to  obey,  and  I  bid  farewell  to  Ijale.  At  this  time  there 
was  war  in  every  direction,  and  the  country  was  full  of 
robbers.  As  we  approached  the  forest  on  the  Yeriwa, 
my  people  were  so  apprehensive  of  an  attack,  that  I 
preceded  them  with  my  yager  to  encourage  them.  Two 
parties,  one  before  us  and  one  behind  us,  were  attacked 
in  one  day,  but  no  one  molested  us,  and  we  arrived  at 
Abbeokuta  in  safety. 

Finding  myself  detained  indefinitely  at  Abbeokuta, 
I  now  took  up  my  abode  in  a  native  house,  but  the 
chiefs  soon  objected  to  this,  and  I  was  obliged  to  re- 
move to  Mr.  Townsend's  compound  or  mission  enclosure, 
where  I  was  furnished  with  rooms  and  boarded  myself 
for  about  a  year  and  a  half,  frequently  making  attempts 
to  reach  the  interior. 


132 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

INCIDENTS  AT    ABBEOKUTA  IN  1851.  4 

THE  YORUBA  LANGUAGE  —  A  PULOH  MAN  —  EGBA  COUNTRY  —  HUMAN  SAC- 
RIFICES—  OKO-OBBA  —  IMMODESTY  —  THE  IDOL  IFA — VISITS  TO  THE 
FARMS  —  SLAVES —  TOBACCO  —  ORO  DAY  —  DEVIL  BUSH 

As  there  was  no  prospect  at  present  of  being  able  to 
learn  the  Puloh  language,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the 
acquisition  of  the  Yoruba.  I  endeavored  in  vain  to  em- 
ploy a  teacher  among  the  Egbas,  who  had  learned  Eng- 
lish in  Sierra  Leone,  and  was  obliged  to  make  the  most 
of  my  boy,  Sam  Jones.  My  method  was  to  learn  trans- 
lations (sometimes  incorrect  ones)  of  short  sentences, 
such  as  I  would  need  in  conversation  and  preaching. 
Every  day  I  learned  one  lesson  and  reviewed  another, 
repeating  the  words  aloud  to  habituate  the  tongue  and 
ear  to  the  sounds  of  the  language.  Every  principle  I 
discovered  was  noted  down  under  its  proper  head,  so  as 
to  form  a  Yoruba  grammar.  After  a  while  I  united  to 
these  exercises  the  continual  reading  of  Mr.  Crowther's 
translations,  which  then  consisted  of  Luke,  Acts,  Ro- 
mans, and  the  Epistles  of  Peter  and  James.  His  gram- 
mar was  too  nearly  a  copy  of  Murray  to  be  very  useful 
in  a  language  like  the  Yoruba,  where  the  idioms  are  so 
very  different.  Although  I  attempted  to  speak  as  fast 
as  I  could  learn  phrases,  and  faster,  it  was  about 
eighteen  months  before  I  could  make  myself  tolerably 


INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUTA. 


133 


well  understood.  The  great  difficulty  is  found  in  the 
tones  and  accents,  which  must  be  uttered  correctly  to 
make  the  language  intelligible.  I  used  to  be  surprised, 
and  sometimes  vexed,  when  the  people  could  not  under- 
stand a  sentence  which  I  knew  to  be  correct  so  far  as 
regards  words  and  idiom.  It  requires  much  practice  to 
master  the  tones,  and  a  man  who  has  no  ear  for  music 
will  hardly  do  it  at  all. 

Some  time  after  locating  at  Abbeokuta,  I  was  inform- 
ed that  the  man  from  whom  I  purchased  milk  was  a 
Puloh,  who  had  been  in  slavery  to  the  Egbas  for  about 
fifteen  years.  I  employed  him  to  teach  me  his  language, 
but  after  giving  me  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  phrases, 
he  refused  to  proceed,  alleging  that  attention  to  his  mas- 
ter's cattle  demanded  all  his  time.  This  man,  whose 
name  was  Jato,  was  mulatto-colored,  tall,  handsome,  and 
intelligent.  He  was  born  at  Sokoto,  in  Hausa,  and  his 
scars  testified  that  he  had  been  a  warrior.  I  tried  in 
vain  to  impress  him  with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  which 
may  have  been  one  reason  why  he  refused  to  teach  me 
his  language.  On  my  return  to  Africa  in  1853,  they  in- 
formed me  that  Jato  was  dead. 

Mr  Hinderer,  a  German,  who  had  been  sent  out  by 
the  church  missionary  society  to  study  the  Hausa  lan- 
guage, finding  it  impossible  to  proceed  to  the  interior,  or 
to  procure  a  teacher  here,  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Yoruba,  and  finally  began  a  station  at  Oshielle,  seven 
miles  east  of  Abbeokuta.  The  chief  gave  him  three  or 
four  little  rooms  in  his  large  house,  which  he  fitted  up 
as  well  as  he  could  for  himself  and  native  assistants. 
They  soon  had  a  little  school  and  some  converts.  Mr. 
Hinderer  used  to  tell  me  amusing  anecdotes  of  the  old 


134 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


chief,  who,  it  seems,  was  something  of  a  character.  One 
day  he  showed  Mr.  Hinderer  an  old  pair  of  breeches, 
saying  that  these  were  the  first  fine  breeches  he  ever 
had,  when  he  was  a  young  man.  Being  in  love  at  that 
time,  a  wily  old  priest,  who  wanted  the  breeches,  pro- 
posed to  him  to  exchange  them  for  a  charm,  which  would 
make  him  successful  in  his  courtship.  The  young  man 
perceived  that  the  old  priest  only  desired  to  cheat  him, 
and  he  has  kept  the  breeches  by  him  ever  since,  as  a 
memorial  of  the  event. 

Sometimes  I  paid  Mr.  Hinderer  and  the  old  chief  a 
visit.  On  one  of  these  occasions  we  rode  several  miles 
eastward  into  the  Egba  country.  It  is  certainly  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  regions  in  Africa  ;  diversified  by  hills 
and  valleys,  woods  and  prairies,  and  scattered  over  with 
large  gneiss  rocks,  some  of  which  are  nearly  white. 
In  one  place  we  saw  surprising  quantities  of  gum  in  a 
forest  of  acacias.  The  land  was  unusually  fertile.  All 
this  fine  country  is  lying  desolate. 

One  day  at  Oshielle,  they  brought  in  an  Ijebu  prisoner. 
Seeing  the  man  exceedingly  affrighted,  I  spoke  kindly 
to  him  and  offered  him  something  to  eat.  This  increased 
his  fears  into  absolute  terror,  which  almost  bereft  him 
of  reason.  For  a  considerable  time  he  continued  to  re- 
iterate. "A  o  pa  mi !  A  o  pa  mi !  O  tau  !  A  o  fa  mi  /" 
"  They  will  kill  me  !  They  will  kill  me  !  It  is  done  ! 
They  will  kill  me/7  etc.  The  people  informed  me  that  the 
Ijebus  offer  human  sacrifices,*  and  that  when  a  prisoner 
has  been  selected  for  a  victim  they  always  treat  him 


*  This  practice  is  uncommon  in  Yoruba,  but  not  so  in  Dahomy,  Ash* 
antee,  and  some  other  countries. 


INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUTA.  135 

kindly  and  give  him  food.  The  poor  man,  seeing  Mr. 
Townsend  and  myself  in  conversation  with  the  chief, 
supposed  that  we  were  about  to  purchase  him,  and  when 
I  approached  him  with  food  and  kind  words,  the  awful 
conclusion  flashed  upon  his  mind  that  the  bargain  had 
been  completed,  and  that  we  had  bought  him  for  the 
purpose  of  being  offered  in  sacrifice. 

I  have  mentioned  Oko-Obba  as  the  only  ancient  Egba 
town  remaining.  On  one  occasion,  I  visited  this  place 
in  company  with  Mr.  King,  an  amiable  native  preacher  of 
the  Episcopal  mission.  The  streams  south  east  of  Ab- 
beokuta,  though  not  boggy,  are  flat  and  grassy,  and  the 
country  appears  to  be  sickly.  Part  of  our  way  lay 
through  prairies,  and  part  through  forests  and  farms. 
On  the  tall  trees  we  saw  and  heard  many  horn  bills,  a 
kind  of  bird  as  large  as  a  goose.  Sam  told  me  that  one 
of  their  heads  was  worth  half  a  dollar  (1000  cowries) 
to  make  a  charm  of.  Three  or  four  hours  brought  us  to 
the  town  which  stands  on  a  stream,  embowered  in  the 
forest.  It  is  a  double  village,  containing  three  thou- 
sand to  four  thousand  inhabitants.  We  observed  several 
people  whose  noses  had  been  obliterated  by  ulcers. 
The  place  is  undoubtedly  sickly.  The  people  are  barba- 
rous. Several  young  women,  in  full  Guinea  costume, 
were  dabbling  in  the  creek  wholly  innocent  of  modesty. 
Under  a  shed  was  a  man  consulting  his  Ifa,  the  orisha 
which  foretells  future  events.  The  ceremony  was  more 
like  a  game  of  back-gammon  than  a  religious  exercise. 
Although  the  responses  are  purely  the  result  of  chance 
like  the  cast  of  dice,  the  natives  believe  in  them  as  sin- 
cerely  as  an  Irishman  does  in  St.  Patrick. 

To  acquaint  myself  with  the  language,  intellect,  feel 


136 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ings,  and  every-day  life  of  the  natives,  I  used  to  visit 
them  on  their  farms,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  town;  and 
remain  two  or  three  days.  In  the  spring  of  1851, 1  went 
with  Sam  and  Shumoi,  the  cook,  to  the  most  distant 
farms  up  the  Ogun  river,  whence  it  is  not  far  to  the 
Yoruba  line.  Most  of  the  way  the  country  was  open, 
as  usual,  and  covered  with  grass  twice  as  high  as  a 
man's  head.  At  last  we  came  to  one  of  the  most  lovely 
countries  on  earth,  where  prairie  and  forest  are  inter- 
mingled with  endless  variety  of  detail,  as  if  designedly, 
to  produce  the  most  enchanting  effect  possible.  Here 
we  found  one  or  two  hundred  men,  women  and  children, 
in  long  open  shanties,  surrounded  by  goats  and  chickens. 
They  lived  in  Abbeokuta,  but  were  in  the  habit  of  com- 
ing and  going  as  occasion  required.  The  soil  was 
rather  good,  and  the  country  could  not  be  sickly  unless 
in  defiance  of  cause  and  reason.  The  woods  were  full 
of  antelopes,  monkeys,  red-tailed  parrots,  and  Guinea 
hens  ;  and  the  river,  now  very  low,  was  encumbered 
with  gneiss  rocks,  among  which  were  numerous  muscles, 
identical  in  appearance  with  oysters.  Their  taste  was 
unsavory.  At  this  season  the  stream  was  so  clear  that 
we  saw  a  crocodile  lying  on  the  bottom,  at  the  distance 
of  thirty  yards.  Among  the  rocks  we  found  a  large 
white  fish  with  its  head  bitten  off.  The  scales  of  the 
fish  were  nearly  as  large  as  a  dime. 

Some  months  after  this  I  visited  the  frontier  farms 
north  west  of  Abbeokuta.  The  prairies  here  were  more 
than  usually  wooded.  Ogunbonna  and  others  were 
going  out  the  same  time  to  look  after  their  farms.  I 
was  much  interested  in  their  sensible  conversation,  in 
which  I  took  no  part.    After  crossing  the  river,  Ogun- 


INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUfA. 


137 


bonna  began  to  point  out  the  farms  and  forests  to  one 
of  the  party,  who  it  seems  was  a  stranger  to  that  place. 
u  That,"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  forest,  "  belongs  to 
such  a  one  "  This  farm  is  such  a  one's  and  finally, 
"  This  is  mine."  Here  we  stopped.  The  salutations 
exchanged  by  Ogunbonna  and  his  slaves,  v^eve  patriar- 
chal and  cordial.  I  remained  here  for  two  or  three  clays, 
sleeping  of  nights  in  a  shantie.  Some  of  the  antelopes 
in  the  woods  are  as  large  as  a  pony,  and  others,  though 
full-grown,  scarcely  three  times  the  size  of  a  rabbit. 
None  of  them  are  easily  shot,  owing  to  the  height  and 
density  of  the  grass.  The  slaves,  at  every  cluster  of 
farm  shanties,  had  their  little  uncut  stone  altar  for  sacri- 
fice. One  of  the  men  at  Ogunbonna's  farm,  was  a  Hausa 
Mahometan,  who  held  these  rites  in  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence, calling  the  people  ake  and  kaferi,  meaning  to  say 
eke  and  keferi,  liars  and  heathens.  The  overseer  told  me 
privately  that  this  man  was  wanting  to  run  away  and 
go  to  Ilorrin.  I  was  not  surprised  to  hear  it.  A  mono- 
theist  in  bondage  to  a  heathen  less  civilized  than  him- 
self, instinctively  feels  the  incongruity  of  his  position. 
But  the  heathen  in  bondage  to  the  monotheist,  generally 
resigns  himself  contentedly  to  his  fate. 

In  the  borders  of  the  towns  of  this  region,  tobacco 
plants  flourish  spontaneously  among  the  weeds.  It  is 
sometimes  planted  by  the  natives,  but  never  topped, 
and  the  quality  is  very  inferior.  Wanting  something 
to  do,  and  seeing  that  everybody  used  Brazilian  tobacco, 
for  which  they  paid  high  prices,  I  undertook  to  make 
myself  useful  by  showing  them  how  to  produce  the  weed 
for  themselves.  Several  persons  prepared  hills,  and 
cultivated  and  cured  tobacco  in  proper  style,  but  the 


138 


•    CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


quality  was  still  poor.  One  reason  might  be  that  the 
land  was  too  old,  and  too  much  exposed  to  the  sun. 
There  are  now  two  or  three  natives  in  Abbeokuta,  lately 
returned  from  Brazil  or  Cuba,  who  manufacture  segars, 
having  followed  that  business  in  America.  The  return- 
ing natives  are  introducing  several  other  arte  which 
may  yet  be  useful. 

One  day  the  bellmen,  or  town  criers,  went  over  the 
city,  beating  their  clattering  unbrazed  bells,  and  crying 
atoto  !  (equivalent  to  0  yes!)  to  inform  the  people  that 
on  such  a  day  Oro  would  make  his  appearance,  and  that 
all  women  and  girls  must  remain  closely  shut  up  in 
the*  house,  under  penalty  of  death.  Oro,  which  has  its 
cognates  in  orwi,  the  sun,  and  in  pharaoh,  On,  Aven,  etc., 
is  a  remote  modification  of  sun  worship.  A*  the  grand 
orisha  of  the  Egbas,  Oro  is  a  personification  of  tne  ex- 
ecutive or  vindictive  power  of  the  government;  but  all 
women  are  required  to  believe  that  he  is  a  terrible  spirit, 
who  takes  vengeance  on  violators  of  the  law.*  To 
give  a  man  or  woman  to  Oro,  is  only  a  figurative  way 
of  expressing  legal  punishment.  On  this  occasion,  a 
man  was  to  be  given  to  Oro  for  a  murder,  of  which  he 
had  been  convicted  several  days  before.  Early  in  the 
morning  we  heard  the  voice  of  Oro  in  the  streets.  This 
is  made  by  whirling  a  flat  stick,  tied  to  a  string,  swiftly 

*  Another  personification  of  executive  power  is  called  Egugun, 
literally  bones.  Egugun  is  represented  by  a  tall  fellow,  fantastically 
clad  from  face  to  foot,  who  appears  in  the  streets  with  a  drawn  sword 
in  his  hands,  and  speaks  in  a  hoarse  sepulchral  voice.  It  is  death  by 
law,  even  to  the  king,  to  lay  the  hand  on  Egugun.  If  a  woman  should 
say  that  Egugun  is  a  man,  or  should  even  hear  it  said,  she  would  be 
put  to  death. 


INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUTA. 


139 


through  the  air.  The  voices  soon  became  more  numer- 
ous, some  hoarse  like  the  growling  of  a  lion,  others 
shrill  as  the  scream  of  an  eagle.  All  the  doors  in 
Abbeokuta  were  closed  fast,  and  the  houses  are  so  con- 
structed that  the  inmates  are  unable  to  see  into  the 
streets.  When  Oro  cried  near  a  house  the  women  were 
silent,  and  the  little  children  were  frightened.  Every 
man  and  every  boy  eight  or  ten  years  of  age  was  in  the 
streets.  There  was  no  market,  no  going  out  to  the 
farms  ;  all  business  was  suspended,  even  the  mission 
premises  were  obliged  to  be  shut. 

Some  time  after  breakfast  I  went  to  see  the  ceremon- 
ies. The  absence  of  busy  women  from  the  streets  and 
markets,  gave  the  whole  town  a  peculiar  sort  of  aspect, 
as  if  something  wras  wanting.  Now  and  then  some 
poor  fellow,  with  a  pot  of  water  on  his  head,  slipped 
through  the  streets,  as  if  ashamed,  and  crept  into  the 
closed  house,  where  his  wife  was  to  use  the  water  in 
preparing  his  dinner.  Several  little  boys,  and  some 
big  ones,  were  seen  with  provisions,  etc.,  to  sell,  but  they 
had  an  awkward  sheepish  air  about  them,  never  attempt- 
ed the  usual  cries  of  "hot  yams!"  "sweet  sauce!"  etc., 
and  were  clearly  inadequate  to  the  smiles  and  chat  of 
the  girls,  whose  places  they  were  endeavoring  to  fill. 
I  felt  and  predicted  that  the  days  of  Oro  were  nearly 
numbered  in  Egba;  the  absence  of  the  women  and  girls 
was  a  chain  too  dreadful  to  be  borne  often.  In  the 
meantime,  in  passing  by  the  houses,  I  had  audible  evi- 
dence that  the  women  themselves,  though  resting,  were 
ill  at  ease.  Twenty  or  fifty  women  pent  up  for  thirty- 
six  hours  in  the  interior  court  of  the  same  house,  and 
having  nothing  else  to  do,  would  talk  of  course,  and 


140 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


feeling  disagreeable  by  reason  of  their  situation,  would 
naturally  say  disagreeable  things;  and  this  occasional- 
ly led  to  a  hubbub,  which  made  the  welkin  ring  again. 
The  Oro  day  was  probably  the  cause  of  one  hundred 
fights,  and  ten  thousand  quarrels  among  the  women  of 
Abbeokuta. 

In  addition  to  the  hanging,  of  which  I  was  not  a  wit* 
ness,  there  were  some  to  be  whipped  ;  one  for  a  crime 
which  the  philosophical,  canting,  would-be  reformer  of 
France  or  New  York  would  term  a  natural  privilege. 
The  Egbas  are  not  so  far  humanized  by  the  tendencies 
of  the  age  as  to  advocate  free-love,  and  their  grave 
Sanhedrim  had  decided  that  the  violator  of  the  seventh 
commandment  should  be  treated  on  Oro  day  to  a  good 
drubbing.  Their  method  of  inflicting  the  penalty  may 
have  been  peculiar,  but  was  not  inefficient.  The  fellow 
was  turned  loose  in  the  public  square,  whence,  flying 
with  the  utmost  precipitation  to  the  nearest  shelter,  he 
was  soundly  flogged  by  nimble  runners,  headed  off,  and 
flogged  back  again,  amid  the  shouts,  jeers  and  laughter 
of  everybody.  I  presume  he  will  not  readily  forget  that 
he  was  once  given  to  Oro. 

The  "  Oro  bush,"  is  a  sacred  grove*  where  the  elders 
deliberate.  The  "  devil  bush"  of  the  Guinea  negroes  is 
doubtless  of  the  same  nature.  I  slipped  into  one  near 
Cape  Coast  Castle,  and  found  nothing  but  a  cleanly 
swept  yard  by  the  side  of  a  large  granite  rock.  In  one 
of  the  Oro  bushes,  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  at  Abbeokuta, 
wras  the  skeleton  of  a  man,  with  the  cord  still  unrotted 


*  The  Yorubas  often  worship  in  "  high  places,"  that  is,  on  the  tops 
of  hills.  > 


INCIDENTS  AT  ABBEOKUTA. 


141 


about  his  neck.  This  was  probably  the  murderer  above 
mentioned.  But  there  are  other  sacred  groves  and  high 
places  besides  those  of  Oro,  and  some  of  them  contain 
things  offered  in  sacrifice,  and  pots  of  holy  water,  with 
which  they  sprinkle  the  faces  of  children.* 


*  This  affusion  is  not  confined  to  the  time  of  giving  the  child  a  name, 
as  among  some  of  the  ancient  heathens,  but  may  be  performed  and  re- 
peated at  any  time  by  the  mother  of  the  child. 


142 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

VISIT  TO  IKETU  IN  1851. 

DEPARTURE  FOR  IKETU  —  DAHOMY  REFUGEES  —  A  POOR  COUNTRY  —  VIL- 
LAGES —  THE  1 1  KING' S  FATHER  ' '  —  SOIL  —  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 
—  DIFFICULTIES  —  DEPOSING  OF  KINGS  —  PREACHING  —  MAHOMETANS 
REBUKED  —  SLAVE  MARKET  —  A  FEMALE  CAPTIVE —  ' 1  SEND  ME  YOUR 
HEAD !  "  —  AMAZONS  —  DEPARTURE  FROM  IKETU. 

Some  months  after  sending  me  back  from  Ijale,  the 
king  of  Iketu  sent  messengers  to  inform  me  that  his 
chiefs  and  people  were  now  willing  to  receive  me.  Be- 
lieving that  they  would  desire  me  to  remain  at  Iketu, 
instead  of  going  forward  to  Bohoo,  I  was  rather  unwil- 
ling to  go  ;  but,  on  reflection,  it  seemed  better  to  begin 
a  station  at  Iketu,  than  to  remain  at  Abbeokuta,  for 
this  would  give  us  a  route  of  our  own  to  the  interior. 
I  left  Abbeokuta  about  a  month  after  the  great  Dahomy 
battle.  On  the  Yeriwa  river  we  passed  through  the 
extensive  encampment  where  the  invaders  had  rested 
a  day  or  two  on  their  way  to  Abbeokuta.  I  was  pleased 
to  find  that  they  had  done  no  injury  to  any  of  the  vil- 
lages where  I  had  stopped  on  my  way  to  Ijale  last  Sep- 
tember ;  for  this  afforded  us  a  substantial  argument 
against  the  superstitious  notion  that  every  town  which 
a  white  man  enters  will  soon  after  be  destroyed  by 
war.  The  people  of  Aibo  and  Ijale  received  me  with 
great  cordiality.    When  I  asked  the  governor  of  the 


VISIT  TO  IKETU. 


143 


latter  place  whether  people  thought  the  Dahomies  were 
much  worsted  at  Abbeokuta,  he  replied,  "They  were 
ruined."  They  informed  me  that  some  of  the  fugitives 
were  still  wandering  about  the  country,  unable  to  find 
their  way  home.  Several  had  lately  been  caught  by 
the  farmers  of  different  towns.  Such  as  were  found  in 
the  Iketu  territories  were  sent  home  to  their  own 
country. 

The  soil  beyond  Ijale  is  generally  poor,  ana  badly 
watered.  Twelve  miles'  journey  brought  us  to  Itobolo, 
where  the  villagers  appeared  to  be  less  civilized  than 
any  I  had  seen  since  leaving  the  coast.  Twelve  miles 
further  on  is  Ofia,  which  is  only  three  miles  from  Iketu. 
While  sitting  under  the  huge  fig  trees  which  shade  the 
market  of  Ofia,  the  chief  of  the  village  sent  me  a  pres- 
ent of  rotten  eggs,  and  soon  after  came  to  salute  me, 
having  his  head  adorned,  in  true  negro  style,  with  red 
feathers. 

As  we  approached  the  gate  of  Iketu,  a  young  man 
came  running  to  meet  me,  apparently  with  great  joy, 
and  saluted  me  in  Portuguese.  On  hearing  that  I  was 
not  a  Brazilian,  he  appeared  to  be  mortified.  He  had 
been  a  slave  in  Brazil,  and  the  ardent  affection  peculiar 
to  his  race  could  not  forget  his  former  country,  although 
in  that  country  he  had  been  a  captive  and  a  slave.  The 
high  and  massy  clay  walls,  and  the  strong  gate  of 
Iketu  surprised  me.  We  passed  along  a  rather  broad 
street,  to  the  house  of  Ashai,  "the  king's  father/7*  or 

*  This  title  was  given  to  the  prime  minister  of  Egypt.  We  may 
mention,  as  a  curious  chain  of  coincidences,  that  in  the  Landoma 
language  [on  the  river  Nunez],  the  word  for  father  is  agia,  and  the 
same  word,  in  variously  modified  forms,  signifies  father  in  different  and 


144 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


prime  minister,  with  whom  I  was  to  abide  during  my 
stay  at  Iketu. 

On  inquiry,  I  was  informed  that  Iketu  is  five  days7 
journey,  say  one  hundred  miles,  from  Whydah,  two  days 
from  Abomy,  and  seventeen  from  Ishakki,  with  which 
at  this  time  there  was  no  direct  communication.  Iketu 
is  a  small  town  of  ten  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  in- 
habitants. There  are  no  springs  or  streams  within  sev- 
eral miles  of  the  place,  and  no  wells  had  yet  been  dug 
sufficiently  deep  to  reach  water.  All  the  water  used  in 
the  town  is  collected  from  the  eaves  of  the  houses  in 
cisterns  or  dry  wells,  dug  to  the  depth  of  twenty  or 
thirty  feet  in  the  tenacious  clay.  The  soil  in  all  this 
region  is  rather  poor.  In  manners  and  feelings,  the 
people  of  Iketu  are  more  barbarous  and  Guinea-like 
than  any  of  the  other  Yoruba-speaking  tribes,  except 
the  Ijebus.  But  they  excel  all  the  tribes  in  this  region, 
except  the  Effongs  or  Kakandas,  in  working  lead,  brass, 
and  iron,  and  in  carving  images  of  wood.  Some  of 
their  productions  of  these  kinds  are  surprisingly  well 
executed. 

I  soon  discovered  that  the  king  had  acted  premature- 
ly in  calling  me  to  Iketu.  Only  a  few  of  the  chiefs 
were  willing  to  receive  me;  others  had  yielded  a  reluc- 
tant consent,  and  others  had  opposed  my  coming.  Af- 
rican kings  are  not  autocrats,  as  writers  have  frequent- 
ly reported,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  examine  into 
the  facts.    Several  of  the  nobles  in  Iketu,  declared  that 


widely  separated  districts  of  Africa.  In  Egba,  &c,  the  king  has  an 
officer  called  agieh,  and  agah  is  a  title  in  Asia.  The  agieh,  though  now 
an  inferior  officer,  may  at  one  time  have  been  a  prime  minister. 


VISIT  TO  IKETU.  145 

the  king  had  transcended  his  authority  by  calling  a 
white  man  into  the  town  contrary  to  their  wishes. 
Others,  supported  by  the  heathen  priests  and  Mahomet- 
ans, and  by  most  of  the  people,  carried  their  opposition 
almost  to  actual  rebellion.  On  the  day  of  my  arrival,  I 
had  gone  to  the  western  part  of  the  town,  and  stood  by 
an  isolated  house  near  the  wall  looking  around  at  the 
town  and  the  country.  That  night  the  house  was  burnt 
down.  I  suspected  that  this  was  done  maliciously,  in 
order  to  convince  the  king  and  the  people  that  misery 
and  destruction  follow  in  the  steps  of  white  men.  Next 
morning  I  was  called  to  a  public  audience  of  the  king 
and  nobles.  Only  a  few  of  the  latter  were  present,  and 
my  reception,  though  courteous,  was  not  cordial.  At 
night,  the  king's  house  was  set  on  fire  and  burnt  down. 
In  the  morning  he  ordered  the  chiefs  to  detail  men  to 
assist  in  rebuilding  his  house.  Several  of  them  replied, 
"  Let  the  poor  white  man  build  it.  But  if  you  will  send 
him  away,  we  will  do  any  thing  you  require,  even  if 
you  should  order  us  to  go  into  the  ground."  The  oppo- 
sition was  so  strong,  that  the  king  was  obliged  to  sub- 
mit to  these  injuries  and  insults,  but  he  sent  word  to 
the  chiefs  that  he  would  rebuild  his  house  himself,  and 
that  the  white  man  should  remain  in  Iketu.  I  desired 
to  leave,  but  this  was  not  permitted,  as  it  would  amount 
to  an  acknowledgement  that  the  king  was  defeated  by 
his  unruly  nobles.  Ashai  thought  that  the  opposition 
would  soon  die  away  when  the  people  discovered  that 
the  king  was  inflexible.  He  declared,  however,  that  I 
must  keep  within  doors  for  some  time,  not  only  because 
my  presence  in  the  streets  exasperated  the  chiefs,  but 
also  for  my  own  safety.  I  objected  to  close  seclusion 
7 


146 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


as  intolerable,  and  obtained  permission  to  go  out  daily 
and  sit  under  a  tree  near  Ashai's  house.  The  friendly 
portion  of  the  people  often  came  to  see  me,  but  the  dis- 
affected chiefs  and  their  party  kept  at  a  distance. 

After  some  days,  Ashai  informed  me  that  they  had 
learned  (invented  ?)  some  particulars  about  the  burning 
of  the  king's  house.  The  conspirators  had  agreed  to 
fire  the  king's  house  first,  and  while  every  body  was 
gone  to  extinguish  it,  they  would  burn  Ashai's  house 
also,  "  and  make  the  white  man  die  in  the  fire."  The 
king,  fearing  that  some  violence  would  be  offered  to  me, 
had  set  guards  around  Ashai's  house,  but  had  neglected 
to  guard  his  own,  supposing  that  he  was  in  no  danger. 
The  guard  had  remained  at  Ashai's  during  the  fire, 
(which  I  knew  to  be  true),  and  this,  they  said,  had  pre- 
served my  life.  About  the  same  time,  the  king  sent  me 
word  that  I  must  not  eat  of  any  thing  which  any  one 
should  send  me,  for  he  feared  they  would  attempt  to 
poison  me.  I  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  a  bottle  of 
milk  from  the  king's  own  yard  every  morning.  One 
morning,  Sam  came  in  with  evident  excitement,  and 
said,  "  Please,  sa,  dat  Filani  man  took  a  leaf  out  de 
milk  slyly,  before  he  po'  it  in  de  bottle."  He  had  also 
refused  to  accept  the  usual  pay.  The  bottle  of  milk 
was  given  to  the  dog,  which  in  a  short  time  was  seized 
with  a  violent  vomiting.  But  he  was  soon  well,  and  I 
laughed  at  the  coincidences  which  had  excited  my  fears. 
Next  morning  I  sent  as  usual  for  milk,  and  drank  it. 
During  the  day,  the  dog  had  another  fit  of  shivering  and 
vomiting,  which  I  fancied  might  be  the  effect  of  yester- 
day's poisoning,  and  thought  that  if  I  had  given  him 
half  the  milk  instead  of  the  whole,  which  caused  him  to 


VISIT  TO  IKETU. 


147 


vomit,  he  might  have  died.  I  drank  no  more  milk  in 
Iketu. 

Ashai  professed  to  fear  that  the  king  himself  was  in 
danger.  All  the  food  which  any  of  the  people  sent  to 
his  majesty,  was  invariably  thrown  away.  They  said, 
moreover,  that  if  all  the  chiefs  should  agree,  they  have 
a  right  by  the  law  of  the  land  to  assemble,  and  say  to 
the  king,  "  You  have  reigned  long  enough,"  whereupon 
he  must  retire  into  his  house,  and  take  poison,  to  avoid 
a  violent  death.  I  had  no  fears  of  this  extremity  at 
present,  for  if  the  king  should  be  deposed  and  killed, 
the  "  king's  father,"  and  several  of  the  principal  people 
must  be  slain  also,  under  the  pretence  that  he  would 
need  them  in  orrun,  or  hades — though  the  obvious  de- 
sign of  this  provision  is  to  deter  the  chiefs  from  being 
too  hasty  in  deposing  the  king. 

By  degrees  I  transgressed  my  prison  bounds,  and 
went  further  and  further  into  the  town  to  preach  to  the 
people.  Ashai  objected  to  this,  but  I  asked  him  whether 
a  king's  messenger  must  not  deliver  his  message.  He 
said  "Yes."  "Then,"  said  I,  "you  must  not  forbid  me 
to  deliver  the  message  of  the  King  of  Kings,  who  has 
sent  me  to  Iketu."  Sometimes  I  met  a  party  of  the  no- 
bles, venerable  old  men,  with  long  staffs  in  their  hands, 
who  never  deigned  to  turn  their  heads  and  look  at  me. 
A  few  of  the  people  tried  to  prevent  others  from  hear- 
ing me,  but  their  opposition  only  excited  opposition  in 
return.  The  people  would  hear  and  approve  too.  One 
woman  cried  out  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  "  whoever 
does  not  believe,  he  knows  it ;  I  believe."  The  Mahom- 
etans, as  usual  in  other  towns,  were  bitter  opponents. 
One  day  I  met  a  party  of  them,  and  said,  "Why  do  you 


148 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Mahometans  go  about  telling  lies  on  me  ?  You  tell  the 
people  that  Iketu  will  be  destroyed  because  I  have  come 
into  it.  But  you  are  the  men  who  destroy  towns  with 
your  two-edged  swords.  If  you  had  the  power,  you 
would. sell  all  these  heathens  for  slaves.  You  know  you 
would,  for  the  Koran  tells  you  to  do  so."  This  was  said 
in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  and  the  Mahometans 
felt  it  keenly. 

Although  Iketu  has  never  been  engaged  in  kidnapping, 
it  has  long  been  a  great  mart  for  slaves,  where  pur- 
chasers from  the  coast  meet  with  sellers  from  the  inte- 
rior. One  day,  a  very  comely  young  woman,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  the  victim  of  sorrow,  came  to  see  me.  I 
inquired  what  she  wanted.  She  replied  that  she  was  a 
native  of  Idoko,  which  lies  to  the  east  of  Yoruba.  She 
was  a  trader  by  profession,  and  while  going  to  a  neigh- 
boring market,  she  had  been  kidnapped  and  sold.  After 
changing  hands  several  times,  she  had  at  last  reached  the 
Iketu  market,  and  expected  soon  to  be  carried  to  the  coast 
for  the  slave  ships.  She  had  a  husband  and  three  child- 
ren at  home,  whom  she  never  expected  to  see  again,  but 
hearing  of  me,  she  had  begged  her  master  to  come  with 
her  to  see  if  I  would  not  buy  her  that  she  might  not  be 
sent  to  Brazil. 

At  this  time  the  Egbas  were  bringing  many  Dahomy 
prisoners  to  Iketu,  to  be  redeemed  by  their  countrymen. 
On  the  eve  of  the  market  day,  it  was  reported  that  four- 
teen hundred  armed  Dahomies  were  coming  to  Iketu  to 
take  their  countrymen  by  force.  This  news  threw  all 
Iketu  into  a  ferment.  The  Dahomy  traders  were  imme- 
diately ordered  to  leave  the  town,  and  messengers  were 
dispatched  to  forbid  the  further  advance  of  the  troops, 


VISIT  TO  IKETU. 


149 


who  deemed  it  prudent  to  retire.  In  the  midst  of  the 
excitement,  a  man  was  heard  to  say,  u  The  king  has 
brought  a  white  man  into  the  town  ;  let  the  Dahomies 
come  also."  This  was  reported  to  the  king,  who  imme 
diately  dispatched  some  of  his  officers  to  punish  the 
man  for  his  treasonable  speech.  They  waited  on  the 
poor  fellow,  and  presented  an  empty  bag,  with  the  civil 
message,  "  The  king  says  you  must  send  him  your 
head." 

One  of  the  Dahomy  prisoners  brought  to  the  Iketu 
market,  was  a  native  of  that  place,  who  had  been  cap- 
tured when  a  girl,  and  enrolled  in  the  king's  army  of 
Amazons.  Her  parents  found  her  out,  and  were  de- 
lighted with  the  opportunity  of  purchasing  her  freedom, 
but  she  said,  "  No  ;  I  will  go  back  to  my  master."  The 
Dahomy  Amazons  are  said  to  have  a  perfect  passion  for 
the  service,  notwithstanding  they  are  bound  to  perpet- 
ual celibacy  and  chastity,  under  the  penalty  of  death. 
I  know  them  to  be  furious  in  battle,  but  their  chief 
utility,  I  am  told,  is  to  prevent  rebellion  among  the 
male  soldiers.  They  have  a  separate  organization 
under  generals  and  other  officers  of  their  own  sex,  and 
are  deeply  attached  to  the  king. 

After  I  had  remained  at  Iketu  about  a  month,  Ashai 
informed  me  that  I  had  better  return  to  Abbeokuta,  till 
such  time  as  the  king  should  send  and  inform  me  that 
the  chiefs  and  people  were  willing  to  receive  me.  I 
readily  agreed  to  this  proposition,  especially  as  it  was 
not  possible  to  pass  on  from  Iketu  to  Yoruba.  Ashai 
desired  me  to  leave  in  the  night,  lest  some  malicious 
person  should  waylay  and  injure  me,  but  I  objected  to 
running  away  like  a  thief,  and  remained  in  the  town  till 


150 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


about  sunrise.  The  news  of  my  departure  seemed  to 
spread  through  the  town  with  great  rapidity.  As  I  re- 
tired through  the  farms,  we  heard  the  firing  of  guns 
and  beating  of  drums,  which  I  supposed  was  the  rejoic- 
ing of  my  enemies. 

During  my  stay  at  Iketu,  my  horse  had  declined  so 
much,  as  to  be  worthless,  and  being  unable  to  procure 
another,  I  was  obliged  to  walk  to  Abbeokuta.  The 
roads  were  full  of  water,  and  the  streams  which  I  must 
wade  were  swollen  by  the  rains,  but  I  arrived  at  Mr. 
Townsend's  station  in  safety,  and  resumed  my  old  quar- 
ters. About  eight  months  after,  the  king  and  the  once 
unfriendly  chiefs  sent  me  a  joint  invitation  to  return, 
but  I  was  now  in  the  act  of  departing  for  Yoruba,  and 
could  not  accept  the  invitation. 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


151 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU,  IN  FEBRUARY,  1852. 

MESSENGERS  SENT  TO   ISEHIN  INVITED    INTO    YORUBA  OPPOSITION — 

ABERREKODO  —  ERUWA  SCENERY   BI-OLORRON-PELLU  —  WHITES  IN 

AFRICA  —  A  CHIEF'S  BIBLE  —  EFFECTS  OF  PREACHING  HEATHENS  WITH- 
OUT  IDOLS   IRAWAW  —  TRAFFIC —  CANDID    MAHOMETANS   INVITED 

TO  AW  YAW  —  FARMS  —  ANIMALS  — HUNTING  —  THE  UNICORN. 

In  October,  1851,  about  twenty  months  after  my  arriv- 
al in  Africa,  I  received  the  first  letters  from  home.  Of 
late  I  had  almost  ceased  to  write,  and  began  to  fear  that 
none  of  my  communications  had  been  received,  or  why 
should  they  not  be  answered  1  Possibly  my  friends  had 
heard  a  false  report,  that  I  was  dead,  and  I  had  long 
since  been  laid  aside  among  the  forgotten.  I  now  learned 
that  my  letters  had  frequently  been  received  and  an- 
swered, but  although  I  had  been  careful  to  employ  the 
proper  agents  on  the  coast,  they  had  either  failed  to  re- 
ceive or  neglected  to  forward  anything  which  had  been 
sent  to  me  from  America.  The  joy  of  receiving  letters 
was  speedily  followed  by  an  increase  of  funds,  and  to 
crown  all,  I  now  at  last  heard  of  an  open  road  to  Isehin, 
in  the  heart  of  Yoruba. 

As  it  was  not  proper  to  visit  Isehin  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  king,  I  went  to  Sagbua  for  a  messenger 
in  his  name  to  go  with  one  of  my  own,  and  ascertain 
whether  the  king  was  willing  to  receive  me.  Sagbua 


152 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


referred  me  to  Shumoye,  the  chief  general  of  the  Egbas. 
Though  I  had  no  previous  acquaintance  with  Shumoye, 
I  went  to  see  him.  "What  white  man  is  this?"  he  in- 
quired. They  told  him.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  have  never 
eaten  any  of  his  money,"  intimating  that  he  was  under 
no  obligation  to  assist  me,  because  I  had  never  given 
him  a  present.  After  some  explanation,  he  agreed  to 
send  me  to  Isehin  within  a  few  days,  with  the  messen- 
gers of  Asehin,*  who  were  then  at  Abbeokuta.  Before 
the  appointed  time  the  messengers  were  gone,  and  I 
found  that  I  had  been  deceived. 

It  is  vain  to  trust  in  princes.  I  next  went  to  a  pri- 
vate man,  who  had  some  sort  of  jurisdiction  over  the 
Isehin  road.  "  0  yes,"  said  the  courteous  old  gentleman, 
"you  shall  have  a  messenger,  but  the  man  is  very  drunk 
to-day,  and  you  must  come  again  to-morrow."  Next  day 
I  found  him  sober,  and  soon  had  my  messengers  on  the 
road  to  Isehin.  They  returned  in  about  two  weeks,  and 
made  a  full  report  of  their  journey,  even  to  the  little 
presents  which  they  had  received  from  different  chiefs 
on  the  road.  They  had  slept  the  first  night  at  Aberre- 
kodo,  where  the  governor  said  that  I  should  not  enter 
his  town,  but  I  might  pass  round  it.  Next  day  they 
reached  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  on  the  top  of  a  mountain. 
Bioku,  the  chief,  received  them  kindly,  and  gave  them  a 
goat,  but  said  to  them,  "You  may  as  well  go  back,  for 
Asehin  is  a  child,  and  will  be  afraid  to  see  the  white 
man."  They  replied  that  they  could  not  return  without 
delivering  their  message,  and  Bioku  then  sent  a  man 


*  Each  king  here  has  his  peculiar  title,  as  Asehin,  king  of  Isehin. 
Alake,  king  of  Egba,  Alaketu,  king  of  Iketu,  &c. 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


153 


with  them,  to  introduce  them  to  the  king.  On  the  third 
day  they  reached  Awaye,  and  Lashimeji,  the  govern- 
or, expressed  great  joy  that  a  white  man  was  coming 
to  Yoruba.  On  the  fourth  day  they  passed  through 
several  villages,  some  of  which  stood  on  high  moun- 
tains, and  arrived  at  Isehin.  They  found  the  king  an 
old  man  and  a  cripple.  He  received  them  kindly,  and 
promised  to  call  a  council  to  consider  my  proposition, 
but  refused  to  accept  the  little  Yoruba  book  which  I  had 
sent  him  as  a  present.  There  were  many  Mahometans 
in  Isehin,  "  about  three  hundred"  of  whom  attended  the 
council.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  under 
such  influence,  the  king  declined  to  receive  me. 

On  their  return  to  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  Bioku  said  "  I  told 
you  that  Asehin  is  a  child.  Go  tell  the  white  man  that 
if  no  one  else  will  receive  him  I  will.  My  town  is  small 
but  I  have  plenty  of  hogs,  and  cows,  and  sheep,  and  am  at 
peace  with  all  my  neighbors.  He  may  stay  here  as  long 
as  he  chooses.  When  I  was  born  my  parents  called  me 
Bioku,  (i.  e.,  If  he  don't  die,  implying  that  he  would  be 
great  if  he  lived).  Twenty  years  ago,  when  the  coun- 
try was  ruined  by  war,  I  came  to  this  mountain  to  build 
a  town.  Everybody  said  we  could  not  succeed.  I  re- 
plied, Bi-olorrun-pellu,  (if  God  be  with  us,)  and  we  gave 
that  name  to  the  town.  The  city  of  Ijaye  sent  an  army 
to  destroy  us,  but  we  killed  their  balogun  (general)  and 
cut  off  his  head.  When  all  the  roads  were  closed  by 
kidnappers,  I  took  my  own  cowries  and  paid  Ibadan 
to  open  this  road,  and  let  us  have  trade.  The  road  is 
now  open.  If  the  white  man  will  let  me  know  when  he 
is  coming,  I  will  send  messengers  to  meet  him  at  Aber- 
rekodo."  This  message  was  good  news  to  me,  and  I 
7* 


154 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


resolved  to  go.  Just  then,  however,  another  invasion 
was  threatened  by  Dahomy.  Commander  Forbes,  of  the 
British  Navy,  was  at  Abbeokuta,  making  active  prepa- 
rations for  the  expected  war,  but  Ogunbonna  and  some 
others  desired  that  I  should  be  present  also,  and  I 
thought  proper  to  remain.  After  all,  the  king  of  Dahomy 
was  too  wise  to  pay  Abbeokuta  another  visit,  and  I  lost 
two  months  by  waiting  for  nothing.  On  looking  back 
upon  my  efforts  to  reach  the  interior,  I  may  say  with 
an  old  wanderer  on  the  shores  of  Africa,  "  Per  varios 
casus,  per  tot  discrimina  rerum,"  &c. 

At  last,  a  little  more  than  two  years  after  landing  in 
Africa,  I  found  myself  ready  to  proceed  with  a  fair 
prospect  of  success.  Then  all  of  a  sudden  came  a  new 
and  unexpected  difficulty — my  carriers  backed  square 
out  and  refused  to  go.  I  engaged  others,  and  they  also 
violated  their  contract.  I  persisted  in  my  determina- 
tion to  go,  and  my  servants  deserted  me.  It  was  use- 
less to  rely  further  on  native  converts.  I  picked  up  two 
fellows,  not  fit  for  servants,  and  applied  to  Ogunbonna 
for  carriers.  Somewhat  to  my  surprise,  he  declared  I 
should  have  as  many  as  I  needed.  With  a  light  heart  I 
passed  through  the  gate  and  took  the  road  to  Yoruba. 
After  traveling  twenty-two  miles,  over  a  fine  prairie 
country,  we  arrived  at  Aberrekodo.  True  to  his  word, 
the  governor  refused  to  let  me  enter  the  town,  but  I 
passed  round  to  the  northern  gate,  where  we  metBi'oku's 
messengers.  Many  people  flocked  out  to  see  me,  to 
whom  I  talked,  as  well  as  I  could,  without  an  interpre- 
ter. A  fine  looking  woman,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  a 
man  somewhat  younger  than  herself,  was  pointed  out  to 
me  as  a  sister  of  Attiba,  the  king  of  Yoruba.  Her  mien 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


155 


was  at  once  graceful  and  rather  imposing,  and  I  found 
her  quite  intelligent  in  conversation. 

Next  morning,  I  was  anxious  to  proceed,  but  was  in- 
formed that  the  governor  had  given  orders  to  detain  me, 
till  he  could  send  forward  and  ascertain  whether  Bioku 
was  really  willing  to  receive  me.  I  replied,  "  You  have 
made  me  sleep  without  the  gates,  like  a  wild  beast,  and 
I  will  not  sleep  here  again.  Go  and  tell  the  governor 
that  I  shall  proceed  at  once  or  return  to  Abbeokuta." 
Several  messages  were  exchanged,  and  it  was  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  I  obtained  permission  to 
proceed.  We  traveled  about  six  miles  over  an  undulat- 
ing prairie,  rather  thickly  covered  with  low  scrubby 
trees,  to  the  Ofiki  river,  which  is  thirty  feet  wide,  and 
obstructed  in  places  by  rocks  of  gneiss.  Four  miles 
further  is  the  village  of  Eruwa,  which  stands  on  a  steep 
and  naked  mountain  of  granite,  several  hundred  feet 
in  height.  The  ascent  was  so  difficult,  that  my  horse 
fell  repeatedly,  and  in  one  place  was  injured  by  slid- 
ing several  yards  down  the  smooth  rock.  The  gov- 
ernor gave  us  a  handsome  reception.  In  the  morning 
I  strolled  over  the  village,  which  might  contain  one 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  houses  were  crowded  in 
among  numerous  large  holders  of  granite,  which  were 
frequently  surmounted  by  little  corn  cribs,  built  of  mor- 
tar and  thatched  with  straw.  The  views  from  Eruwa 
are  very  beautiful.  On  the  south  and  west,  there  is  a 
wide  expanse  of  undulating  prairie,  traversed  by  mean- 
dering tree-bordered  streams,  and  dotted  here  and  there 
with  wooded  hills  and  huge  masses  of  naked  granite. 
Immediately  on  the  north,  is  a  rugged  mass  of  moun- 
tains, whose  peaks  and  gorges  present  many  pictur- 


156 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


esque  landscapes.  At  this  season,  the  beauty  of  the 
scenery  was  heightened  by  the  intermixture  of  gay 
flowers,  and  bright  green  leaves,  with  the  dark  foliage 
of  evergreens. 

Our  road  from  Eruwa  lay  through  a  gorge  directly 
over  the  mountains.  In  some  places  the  strangeness, 
wildness,  and  beauty  of  the  scenery,  made  an  indescrib- 
able impression  on  my  feelings.  Beyond  the  mountains, 
is  a  fertile  valley,  which  was  mostly  occupied  by  far- 
mers of  Bi-olorrun-pellu.  As  we  approached  the  village, 
which  stands  like  Eruwa,  on  a  rock  mountain,  we  met 
two  women,  who  looking  suddenly  up,  and  seeing  such 
a  figure  as  myself,  bolted  into  the  bushes,  exclaiming 
emaw !  i.  e.,  monster  !  A  sick  traveler  overheard  two 
negro  women  who  were  nursing  him,  conversing  in  this 
style:  "  He  looks  like  folks"— " Yes,  but  he  ain't."  No 
philosophical  ethnologist  ever  doubted  the  proper  hu- 
manity of  Africans  more  sincerely  than  some  of  the 
Africans  doubt  ours. 

The  eastern  entrance  to  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  is  a  narrow 
pass  between  two  great  holders,  at  the  top  of  a  precipi- 
tous ascent.  Having  performed  the  difficult  task  of 
leading  my  horse  to  this  point,  I  mounted,  and  rode 
several  hundred  yards  through  intricate  and  narrow 
streets,  to  the  house  of  Bioku,  the  chief.  Although  the 
sun  was  not  warm,  my  people  insisted  on  my  raising 
my  umbrella,  so  soon  as  I  had  entered  the  town,  merely 
to  gratify  their  own  vanity;  for  an  umbrella  in  Yoruba 
is  quite  as  honorable  distinction  as  a  coach  and  six  and 
servants  in  livery,  among  "  certain  parties" — medie- 
val fogies— in  some  civilized  countries.  The  sensible 
old  governor  received  me  without  any  of  the  useless 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


157 


preliminaries  common  on  such  occasions,  atid  after  a 
few  salutations  and  inquiries,  directed  his  people  to 
conduct  me  to  the  rooms  which  had  been  prepared  for 
my  reception. 

My  first  employment  was  to  see  the  village,  which 
contained  about  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  to  give 
every  body  an  opportunity  of  seeing  me.  So  far  as  I 
ascertained,  there  was  only  one  man  in  the  town  who 
had  ever  seen  a  white  man  before.  He  professed  to 
have  seen  many,  not  only  a  few  like  me  on  the  sea 
coast,  but  a  whole  city  of  white  people  of  a  different 
kind,  some  where  in  the  east.  His  story  was  briefly 
this:  that  he  had  been  for  many  years  a  dresser  of  mo- 
rocco leather;  that  he  had  traveled  in  this  occupation 
one  month's  journey  to  a  large  town  called  Sokoto,  and 
thence  two  months  further  to  a  town  called  Waianga- 
rana,  which  was  inhabited  almost  wholly  by  whites. 
Here  he  resided  for  several  years,  and  learned  to  speak 
their  language,  some  specimens  of  which  he  readily 
gave  me.  To  my  questions,  he  replied,  that  some  of 
the  people  there  were  fairer  than  myself ;  that  they 
dressed  differently;  that  they  were  neither  idolaters  nor 
Mahometans,  though  he  could  not  tell  what  they  wor- 
shipped; that  the  weather  was  always  warm  there, 
and  that  there  was  another  small  town  of  white  people 
near  to  the  large  one,  in  which  he  resided.  I  could  only 
set  the  whole  story  down  among  several  other  doubtful 
and  inexplicable  things  which  one  hears  in  Africa. 

One  day  Bioku  sent  for  me  and  showed  me  his  Bible, 
a  cheap  duodecimo  copy,  published  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  probably  sold  or  given  to 
him  by  some  Yoruba  man,  who  had  resided  in  Sierra 


158 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Leone,  as  a  re-captured  slave.  He  knew  it  to  be  the 
word  of  God,  and  treated  it  with  great  and  perhaps  su- 
perstitious respect.  How  eagerly  he  would  have  read 
it,  if  he  had  only  been  able!  But  the  heavenly  message 
was  sealed  up  and  shut  out  from  his  soul.  He  next  in- 
vited me  to  the  house  of  his  ennikeji,  associate,  or  lieuten- 
ant, and  showed  me  all  his  idols,  and  the  other  symbols 
of  his  religion,  They  were  neatly  arranged  in  a  broad 
niche  or  little  room,  and  concealed  by  a  curtain.  When 
I  told  the  aid  man  of  the  Saviour  revealed  in  the  Bible, 
he  listened  with  great  attention,  but  could  not  agree 
that  his  own  mediators,  of  which  the  images  were  only 
symbols,  had  no  power  with  God.  In  Africa,  as  every 
where  else,  the  doctrine  that  Christ  is  all  in  all,  the  one 
and  only  Saviour,  is  a  stumbling  stone  to  the  natural 
man. 

For  several  days  the  people  were  too  much  engaged 
in  looking  and  wondering  at  the  white  man,  to  pay 
much  attention  to  the  Gospel.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  a  number  of  persons  were  deeply  interested.  I 
was  told  that  one  or  two  of  Bioku's  sons  had  laid  aside 
their  idols.  For  several  days  a  middle  aged  woman, 
named  Oyindala,  came  almost  every  morning  to  hear 
me  preach.  When  I  first  observed  her,  she  was  evi- 
dently under  deep  concern,  but  I  thought  best  to  let  her 
pass  without  any  special  instruction.  She  had  not  yet 
spoken  to  me.  At  last  she  came  to  see  me,  with  a 
countenance  beaming  with  joy,  and  began  to  tell  me  how 
she  had  been  distressed,  since  hearing  the  word  of  God, 
and  how  she  now  believed  in  Jesus  the  Saviour.  Next 
day  she  brought  her  idols  to  be  destroyed.  Although 
it  is  my  uniform  manner  to  give  prominence  to  the  his- 


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159 


torical  facts  of  the  Gospel,  including  baptism,  I  was 
rather  surprised  when  she  said,  "  I  want  you  to  baptize 
me."  Knowing  that  I  must  soon  go  forward,  and 
might  never  see  her  again,  so  as  to  instruct  her  in  all 
things  which  follow  baptism,  (Matt,  xxviii.  20,)  I  felt 
constrained  to  refuse  her  request.  Some  judicious 
brethren  in  America  have  regarded  this  refusal  as  a 
violation  of  the  commission.  My  own  opinion  is,  that  I 
ought  not  to  have  left  the  village.  If  I  had  baptized 
Oyindala  and  some  others,  who  were  ready,  and  had 
sent  home  an  ardent  appeal  for  help,  the  mission  might 
at  once  have  been  established  on  a  firm  basis.  But  I 
then  thought  that  I  should  explore  the  country  and  pre- 
pare for  establishing  ourselves  in  some  of  the  large 
towns.    In  fact,  I  was  too  curious  to  see  the  country. 

Another  of  my  hearers  named  Alaiju,  used  to  visit  me 
almost  every  evening,  to  converse  and  ask  questions. 
I  have  never  seen  a  person  who  appeared  to  be  more 
burdened  by  the  power  of  the  Word,  but  for  several 
days,  neither  he  nor  I  made  any  allusion  to  his  feelings. 
My  old-fashioned  Baptist  brethren  have  a  proverb,  that 
"  the  fruit  will  fall  when  it  is  ripe,"  and  this  is  precisely 
my  own  opinion.  Nevertheless,  while  I  abstained  from 
saying  anything  special  to  such  people  as  Alaiju,  I  fre- 
quently made  special  remarks  for  them.  In  due  time 
Alaiju  introduced  his  own  case  by  this  remarkable  de- 
claration :  "  I  have  no  idols  ;  I  am  not  a  Mahometan  ;  I 
have  nothing  of  this  kind  to  lay  down,  but  I  am  a  sin- 
ner and  I  want  to  be  saved."  Now  was  my  time  to 
show  him  how  God  could  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him 
that  believes  in  Jesus. 

We  have  frequently  thought  that  all  heathens  are 


160 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


idolaters,  but  this  is  not  the  case  in  Yoruba.  I  have 
met  with  several  of  both  sexes,  who  declared  that  they 
had  never  worshipped  an  idol.  This  is  a  natural  result 
of  the  pure  theism  of  their  natural  religion.  Every- 
body in  that  country  believes  in  one  true  and  living 
God,  of  whose  character  they  often  entertain  surpris- 
ingly correct  notions.  Most  of  the  people  worship 
certain  imaginary  creatures  whom  they  regard  as  me- 
diators between  God  and  men  ;  but  there  are  some  who 
reject  such  mediation,  and  attempt  to  hold  direct  com- 
munication with  God  himself.  So  far  as  my  observation 
extends,  this  class  of  people  are  usually  sensible  and 
moral,  and  easily  impressed  by  the  doctrine  of  atone- 
ment and  mediation  as  propounded  in  the  Gospel. 

In  regard  to  humanity  and  civilization,  the  people  of 
Sudan  are  far  in  advance  of  the  Guinea  negroes,  and 
the  two  classes  have  little  community  of  feeling.  The 
former  are  even  afraid  to  go  down  to  the  coast  except 
at  a  few  points,  and  the  traffic  between  Guinea  and  Su- 
dan is  mostly  carried  on  at  certain  border  towns,  as  Ike- 
tu  and  Aberrokodo,  which  lie  four  or  five  days7  journey 
in  the  interior  from  the  sea  board.  The  line  of  traffic 
through  the  latter  place  had  been  suspended  for  years, 
till  very  lately,  but  there  was  already  an  active  caravan 
trade  between  Aberrokodo  and  the  interior.  As  the  ca- 
ravans passed  through  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  many  traders 
and  travelers  came  to  see  me,  which  gave  me  an  op- 
portunity of  hearing  from  various  parts  of  the  interior, 
and  of  sending  the  Gospel  message  to  the  people  of  dis- 
tant towns.  From  time  to  time,  I  have  met  with  men 
from  the  interior  who  had  never  seen  a  missionary  ;  and 
yet  they  had  obtained  some  correct  knowledge  of  the 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


161 


Gospel  from  travelers.  One  of  the  strangers  who 
visited  me  at  Bi-olorrun-pellu  was  a  son  of  the  chief 
of  Irawaw,  a  town  in  the  west  of  Yoruba.  He  paid 
great  attention  to  the  Gospel,  and  urged  me  to  visit  his 
town.  Irawaw  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  idol  called 
Orishako,  which  on  account  of  its  being  expensive,  is 
chiefly  worshipped  by  the  aristocracy  and  the  wealthy. 
The  symbol  of  this  orisha  (idol)  is  not  an  image,  but  a 
large  iron  bar  manufactured  and  consecrated  in  Irawaw. 
The  people  have  told  me  a  curious  story  of  which  the 
following  is  an  outline  :  In  ancient  times  there  was  one 
of  the  six-fingered  giants*  of  those  days  living  at  the 
Egba  town  of  Igbehin.  Being  summoned  to  Irawaw 
to  take  an  oath  by  Orishako,  he  became  enraged  with 
the  priests,  killed  them  and  every  body  else  he  could 
lay  hands  on,  and  carried  off  ten  of  the  sacred  iron  bars. 
It  was  then  decreed  that  no  Igbehin  man  should  ever 
again  enter  Irawaw,  and  the  law  remains  in  force  to 
this  day. 

Among  my  other  visitors  were  several  Mahometans, 
who  generally  listened  respectfully  to  the  word.  One 
party  in  particular  appeared  to  be  much  impressed. 
When  they  first  came  their  spokesman  introduced  them 
by  saying,  "  We  have  long  heard  that  there  are  people 
in  the  world  who  are  better  acquainted  with  God  than 
we  are.  After  a  while  we  heard  that  some  of  them 
(the  English  missionaries)  had  come  to  Badagry  ;  then 


*  I  must  express  a  slight  suspicion  that  the  people  never  heard  of 
six-fingered  giants  till  some  of  their  countrymen  returned  from 
Sierra  Leone.  Still  I  have  heard  no  facts  on  which  the  suspicion  is 
founded. 


162 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


they  came  to  Abbeokuta,  and  now  you  have  come  into 
Yoruba.  The  people  told  us  that  you  are  a  good-natured 
man,  who  receives  everybody,  and  we  have  come  to  hear 
you  talk."  I  told  them  about  the  history  of  Christ,  and 
the  Gospel  plan  of  salvation,  and  they  raised  several 
objections  from  the  Koran.  In  speaking  about  making 
war  on  the  heathen,  as  the  Koran  enjoins,  I  said,  in 
the  figurative  style  which  always  pleases  the  Africans, 
"  I  am  a  soldier ;  I  have  come  here  to  fight  with  the 
heathen  and  with  you  Mahometans  ;  here  is  my  sword 
(taking  up  the  Bible) — the  true  sword  of  God.  I  use 
it  with  my  tongue.  When  this  sword  enters  a  man's 
ear  and  pierces  into  his  heart,  he  is  killed,  not  his  body, 
but  his  soul  is  killed  to  the  love  of  sin,  of  idols,  of 
Mahomet,  and  he  rises  a  new  man,  to  live  a  new  and 
holy  life  for  God."  This  made  an  impression,  and  I  fol- 
lowed it  up  warmly  for  a  few  minutes  with  doctrine  and 
exhortation.  When  they  arose  to  depart,  at  the  end  of 
a  long  conversation,  their  spokesman  said,  "  You  have 
smitten  us  with  the  sword,  but  we  are  not  offended." 
These  men  continued  to  come  for  several  days,  and  even 
permitted  their  caravan  to  leave  them  behind,  that  they 
might  hear  more  of  the  Gospel.  At  last  they  departed, 
and,  like  many  others  to  whom  I  have  preached  with 
considerable  hope,  I  have  seen  them  no  more  from  that 
day  to  this. 

Aggaw-Ojjah,  the  capital  of  Yoruba,  often  called 
Awyaw,  lies  four  days'  journey  to  the  north  east  of 
Bi-olorrun-pellu.  The  king  soon  heard  that  a  white  man 
had  entered  his  dominions,  and  instructed  his  messen- 
gers, who  were  going  to  Abberrekodo,  to  see  me  and 
inquire  what  I  wanted.    I  took  particular  pains  to  tell 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


163 


them  again  and  again,  what  the  Gospel  is  and  requires, 
and  charged  them  to  rehearse  the  whole  matter  to  the 
king.  About  two  weeks  after  this,  the  messengers  re- 
turned, saying  that  the  king  was  much  pleased  with  the 
word  of  God,  and  desired  me  to  come  and  see  him.  As 
this  step  might  have  involved  Bioku  in  trouble  with  the 
chiefs  of  Ijaye  and  Ibadan,  who  were  too  strong  for  the 
king,  I  was  obliged  to  defer  a  visit  to  Awyaw  till  some 
future  period. 

Most  of  my  mornings  at  "  Bioku's  place,"  as  the  vil- 
lage is  often  called,  were  spent  in  the  piazza  of  my 
house,  sitting  on  a  mat,  and  preaching  to  the  people 
who  sat  around  me.  In  the  afternoon  I  often  took  soli- 
tary rambles  through  the  surrounding  farms,  and  occa- 
sionally spent  several  hours  in  clambering  up  the  steep 
and  rugged  mountains.  The  country  was  full  of  game, 
as  monkeys,  rockdoves,  coneys,  partridges,  squirrels  and 
a  sort  of  hedge-hog,  among  the  mountains  and  rocks  ; 
and  guinea-hens,  another  kind  of  partridge,  crested 
cranes,  antelopes,  etc.,  in  the  farms  and  prairies ;  and  I 
generally  carried  my  gun,  not  only  for  amusement,  but 
to  defend  myself,  in  case  of  necessity,  against  leopards 
and  other  beasts  of  prey.  I  seldom  made  an  excursion 
without  meeting  with  some  little  adventure.  One  day, 
on  the  mountains,  I  caught  a  young  monkey,  alive  and 
sound,  and  carried  him  home,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
the  people.  At  first  he  was  much  affrighted,  but  soon 
became  quiet.  After  I  had  tied  him  in  the  piazza,  he 
sat  very  demurely  for  some  time,  as  if  in  deep  medita- 
tion. When  I  offered  him  a  piece  of  banana,  he  ex- 
tended his  hand  slowly  and  took  it ;  but  after  nibbling 
a  little,  laid  it  down,  apparently  too  much  afflicted  to 


164 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


eat.  It  was  only  a  few  hours,  however,  before  he  ap- 
peared to  be  quite  reconciled  to  his  lot,  and  he  was  soon 
performing  as  many  antics  as  if  he  had  wholly  forgotten 
his  misfortune. 

On  another  occasion  I  shot  a  very  large  hawk  of  a  pe- 
culiar kind,  which  I  was  anxious  to  examine.  Seeing 
some  women  passing  along  a  mountain  path,  and  know- 
ing that  they  would  be  glad  to  eat  the  hawk,  I  called  to 
them  to  go  and  get  it.  As  we  approached  the  place 
where  it  nad  fallen,  something  leaped  away  through  the 
rocks  and  bushes,  and  I  prepared  to  shoot  an  antelope, 
but  we  soon  found  that  a  leopard  or  tiger-cat  had  borne 
off  our  prize. 

I  was  in  the  habit  of  making  diligent  search  every 
where,  high  and  low,  for  inscriptions  on  the  rocks  ;  not 
because  I  really  expected  to  find  any,  but  still  I  thought 
it  might  be  possible.  To  the  west  of  Bioku's  rock  is 
another  still  higher,  called  Imeggeh,  which  is  two  or 
three  miles  in  circuit,  and  so  precipitous  that  the  people 
assured  me  that  the  summit  was  inaccessible.,  I  had  a 
fancy,  and  at  last  a  strong  desire  to  ascend  this  rock 
and  look  for  inscriptions.  The  northern  side  was  a  per- 
pendicular precipice  several  hundred  feet  in  height.  By 
repeated  examinations  and  trials  I  found  a  place  of 
ascent  on  the  south.  After  climbing  a  somewhat  steep 
hill  for  a  distance  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards,  I  came 
to  a  flat  of  rich  level  land  planted  in  Indian  corn.  By 
the  side  of  this  little  farm,  I  discovered  an  old  man  in  a 
snug  lodge  under  a  shelving  rock,  with  no  other  com- 
panions than  his  hens  and  chickens.  No  hermit  could 
desire  a  more  quiet  or  romantic  spot  to  act  the  fool  in. 
Further  on  was  a  great  mass  of  granite,  penetrated  by 


VISIT  TO  BI-OLORRUN-PELLU. 


165 


a  horizontal  fissure  into  which  I  walked  till  the  darkness 
compelled  me  to  return.  Climbing  the  rock  with  some 
difficulty  and  danger,  I  at  last  reached  the  summit, 
which  I  found  covered  with  holders  and  brushwood, 
except  a  few  acres  of  naked  granite  at  the  eastern  end. 
In  this  almost  inaccessible  spot  there  had  once  been  a 
village,  as  I  knew  by  the  basins  which  the  women  had 
worn  in  the  rock  in  pounding  corn,  and  by  the  stone 
trough,  now  broken,  in  which  the  blacksmith  had  tem- 
pered his  tools.  These  were  the  inscriptions  left  by  the 
poor  villagers  to  commemorate  their  existence.  I  read 
them  with  melancholy  interest.  Nothing  but  the  terrors 
of  war  had  planted  a  village  in  such  a  place  as  this. 
Here  perhaps  the  unhappy  people  had  suffered  the  hor- 
rors of  siege  and  famine,  or  had  been  driven  over  the 
edge  of  the  precipice  by  fierce  assailants. 

Once  or  twice  during  the  dry  season,  the  chiefs  and 
principal  men,  followed  by  a  multitude  of  people  with 
dogs,  have  a  grand  ring-fire  hunt,  in  which  they  take 
abundance  of  game,  including  buffaloes,  leopards,  ante- 
lopes, hedge-hogs,  rabbits,  rats,  terrapins,  &c.  Bioku's 
hunt  came  off  during  my  stay  at  his  village.  In  the 
evening  all  the  game  taken  was  brought  in  and  laid  at 
the  feet  of  the  chief  and  elders,  who  distributed  to 
the  head  of  each  party  to  be  divided  among  his  fol- 
lowers. My  own  share  was  a  small  antelope  and  a 
tortoise. 

Several  of  the  villagers  told  me  of  an  animal,  called 
agbangrere,  which  has  the  form  of  a  horse,  the  feet  of  a 
cow,  and  single  horn  in  the  forehead,  like  that  of  a 
large  antelope.  This  creature  is  sometimes  slain  in  Y6- 
ruba,  but  the  unfortunate  slayer  is  sure  to  die  within  a 


166 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


year.  Only  one  had  been  killed  in  these  parts  for  a 
long  time,  and  the  skull  of  that  was  buried  in  the  stack 
of  bones  before  the  hunter's  temple,  at  Bi-olorrun-pellu, 
but  I  could  not  be  permitted  to  pull  down  the  stack  and 
remove  it.  The  horn  of  one  was  produced,  and  proved 
to  be  nearly  as  long  as  my  arm,  black  in  color,  coarsely 
rugose  below  and  smooth  toward  the  point.  They  stoutly 
denied  that  it  was  an  antelope's  horn,  and  said  that  the 
person  who  owned  it,  held  it  sacred  as  a  sort  of  orisha, 
or  idol.  Bioku  himself  confirmed  all  these  statements. 
They  declared  further  that  king  Suta  had  a  living  uni- 
corn at  Ilorrin.  Three  years  afterward,  when  I  went 
to  Ilorrin,  I  asked  the  king's  people  whether  they  had 
ever  seen  a  unicorn  ?  They  replied,  Yes,  that  one  had 
been  brought  into  the  town  as  a  present  to  the  king  ; 
that  it  was  shaped  like  a  horse,  but  was  not  so  large — 
that  it  had  cloven  feet  like  those  of  the  large  antelope, 
(ira,)  that  its  color  was  sorrel — that  it  had  a  large  black 
horn  on  its  forehead,  that  it  refused  to  eat,  and  that  the 
king  had  it  taken  out  of  the  town  and  killed. 

The  king's  slaves  had  eat-en  its  flesh,  but  no  one  knew 
what  became  of  the  horn  or  the  skull.  If  such  an  ani- 
mal exists  in  the  country,  some  of  us  will  probably  be 
able  to  procure  a  skull  before  long. 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


167 


CHAPTER  XV. 

VISIT  TO  AWAYE,   KE-EFO,  AND  IJAYE,  IN  1852. 

DEPARTUBE  FOR  ISHAKKI —  AWAYE — OKE-EFO — RETURN  TO  AWATE  — 
A  PRINCE  BANISHED — VISIT  TO  IJAYE  —  LAND  GIVEN  FOR  A  MIS- 
SION—  BETURN  TO  THE  COAST  —  EMBARK  FOR  LONDON. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  at  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  I  sent  mes- 
sengers to  Ishakki,  five  clays'  journey  northward,  asking 
permission  to  visit  that  city.  On  their  return,  the  men 
reported  that  they  had  been  favorably  received  at  every 
place,  and  that  Okkerre,  the  chief  of  Ishakki,  was  much 
pleased  to  hear  of  my  coming.  I  now  fancied  that  all 
my  difficulties  were  ended.  But  I  delayed  for  the  sake 
of  preaching  in  Bioku's  town,  till  the  news  of  my  com- 
ing had  spread  far  over  the  country,  and  Kumi,  the 
chief  of  Ijaye,  had  sent  orders  to  the  towns  on  my  road 
to  prevent  my  going  further  into  the  interior.  The  king 
also  was  determined  to  persuade  me  to  turn  aside  to  his 
town,  though  he  durst  not  command  me,  for  fear  of  giv- 
ing offence  to  Okkerre  and  Kumi,  both  of  whom  desired 
to  see  me. 

Just  as  I  had  completed  my  arrangements  to  proceed, 
the  king's  messengers  came  to  me  the  third  time,  and 
urged  me  to  visit  Aw^yaw.  I  declared  that  I  could  not 
do  so,  and  alleged  the  well  known  opposition  of  Asehin 
as  an  excuse.  The  chief  messenger  replied,  "  If  you 
were  willing  to  go,  we  could  take  you  through  the  air, 


1G8 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


rather  than  leave  you  behind."  I  told  him  that  my  pro- 
mise was  out,  and  I  must  start  to  Ishakki  to-morrow. 
He  was  evidently  not  pleased,  and  I  feared  that  he 
would  go  before  me  and  raise  some  hindrance  at  Awaye. 
To  prevent  this,  I  arose  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  set  out  as  quietly  as  possible,  but  the  king's  mes- 
sengers had  already  departed.  They  probably  left  Bi- 
olorrun-pellu  the  evening  before,  soon  after  dark.  As 
there  was  no  moon,  we  had  a  difficult  time  in  descend- 
ing the  mountain,  and  clambering  over  the  rocks,  which 
obstructed  our  road  a  mile  or  two  further  on.  Several 
kinds  of  birds  which  slept  on  the  trees  in  the  prairies 
began  to  chatter  and  scream  an  hour  before  day.  At 
sunrise  we  found  ourselves  in  a  wide  prairie,  partially 
wooded  and  well  watered  by  clear  rocky  streams. 
Every  now  and  then  we  passed  over  a  great  flat  rock, 
and  occasionally  by  the  foot  of  a  granite  hill,  several 
hundred  feet  in  height.  Mt.  Ado  was  in  plain  view 
before  us,  with  a  cloud  resting  on  its  bosom,  at  some 
distance  below  its  summit.  It  was  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  before  we  arrived,  weary  and  hungry,  at 
Awaye.  To  my  surprise  and  mortification,  the  gate 
keepers  shut  the  gate  in  my  face,  and  told  me  that  I 
must  not  enter  the  town,  till  Lashimeji,  the  governor, 
should  return  from  Ijaye.  As  my  carriers  were  now  to 
leave  me  and  return  to  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  I  bivouacked 
under  a  tree,  where  I  was  soon  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  anxious  to  look  at  the 
white  man.  At  first,  I  laid  my  misfortune  on  the  king's 
messengers,  but  the  people  soon  informed  me  that 
Kumi  wanted  me  to  visit  Ijaye,  and  had  given  orders 
that  no  one  should  assist. me  in  proceeding  to  Ishakki. 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


169 


What  should  I  do  now  ?  Ijaye  is  not  more  than  sixty 
miles  from  Abbeokuta,  and  not  at  all  in  the  direction 
which  I  wished  to  proceed.  Why  should  I  turn  aside 
for  two  weeks  or  a  month,  and  then  retrace  my  steps  to 
Ishakki  and  the  Niger  ?  I  made  offers  for  carriers  to 
convey  my  luggage  to  Oke-Efo,  but  the  people  declared 
that  the  governor  had  forbidden  them  to  assist  me. 
Next  morning,  I  renewed  my  efforts  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. "  Very  well,"  said  I,  "  you  shall  see  what  I  can 
do."  So  I  packed  two  loads  on  my  horse,  and  gave 
three  to  my  servants  and  a  stranger,  who  agreed  to 
help  us,  and  set  out  on  foot  with  a  cheerful  heart,  carry- 
ing my  gun  and  blankets. 

Nearly  all  the  Yoruba  prairies  are  partially  wooded 
with  low  bushy  trees,  but  beyond  Awaye  we  entered  an 
open  woodland  country,  such  as  we  see  in  America.  A 
country  of  this  character  in  Africa  was  so  unexpected, 
that  I  was  delighted  beyond  measure.  It  seemed  that 
I  should  never  grow  weary  of  looking  once  more  on  an 
open  grassy  forest.  The  whole  country  appeared  to  be 
full  of  antelopes,  some  of  which  (the  ira)  made  tracks 
almost  as  large  as  the  buffaloes  which  roam  through  the 
same  woods,  only  more  sharp-pointed,  like  the  track  of 
a  deer.  Eight  or  ten  miles  beyond  the  town,  we  cross- 
ed a  creek,  and  passed  over  a  flat  piece  of  ground, 
where  the  rocks  are  trappose — the  first  of  the  kind  I 
had  seen  since  leaving  Monrovia.  The  mountains  a 
mile  or  two  beyond  the  creek  are  granite,  and  so  steep 
as  to  be  difficult  of  ascent.  My  horse  was  unable  to 
carry  his  loads  up  some  of  the  acclivities,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  take  them  ourselves.  Night  overtook  us  in 
the  midst  of  the  mountains,  and  we  lay  down  beneath 
8 


170 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


the  spreading  branches  of  a  large  ossan  tree,  which  was 
loaded  with  yellow  fruit  as  large  as  peaches.  The 
wind  whistled  among  the  mountains  all  night,  and  next 
morning  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  golden  fruit, 
which  had  the  flavor  of  large  red  haws,  only  it  was 
more  pleasant  and  juicy.  Three  or  four  miles  over  an 
elevated  plateau,  covered  with  beautiful  farms,  brought 
us  to  Oke-Efo — the  Mountain  Glen,  which  is  girdled 
about  by  towering  hills,  with  a  fine  open  view  to  the 
west.  Finding  the  gate  open,  I  rode  in,  and  was  about 
to  ascend  into  the  town,  when  I  was  met  by  a  deputa- 
tion from  the  chief,  who  declared  that  I  must  return, 
and  encamp  behind  the  wall,  as  they  could  not  presume 
to  receive  me,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  Kumi.  They 
conducted  me  to  a  pleasant  camping  place,  by  a  clear 
brook,  and  the  chief  sent  me  provisions. 

The  stranger  who  had  assisted  us  from  Awaye,  could 
not  accompany  us  further,  and  my  horse  had  been  too 
much  injured  by  the  fall  on  Eruwa  rock,  to  bear  the 
fatigue  of  carrying  a  heavy  burden  up  and  down  the 
mountains.  My  only  expedient  was  to  send  two  of  my 
servants  to  Ishakki  for  carriers,  while  myself  and  the 
third  should  remain  and  take  care  of  the  luggage.  But 
the  rainy  season  had  already  commenced,  and  as  it 
would  require  eight  or  ten  days  to  get  carriers  from 
Ishakki,  it  was  necessary  first  of  all  to  make  a  tent'or 
booth  of  grass,  to  protect  us  against  the  weather.  On 
learning  my  determination,  the  good-natured  people 
took  hold  of  the  work  with  alacrity,  and  soon  completed 
our  shelter.  It  was  finished  just  in  time  to  shield  us 
from  one  of  the  most  violent  rains  I  have  ever  seen. 
The  mountains  were  shaken  by  continuous  peals  of 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


171 


thunder,  and  the  rivulets  were  converted  into  mighty 
torrents,  which  bore  away  earth  and  stones  in  their 
raging  currents. 

One  night  after  I  had  lain  down,  some  men  hailed 
from  the  hill  above,  and  announced  themselves  as  mes- 
sengers from  Akiolla,  Kumi's  eldest  son,  who,  as  heir 
apparent,  bore  the  title  of  Daudu.  They  said,  "  that 
Lashimeji  had  returned  from  Ijaye,  and  Daudu  with 
him  ;  that  Kuini,  whom  they  called  Areh  (i.  e.,  general- 
issimo or  military  prince)  wanted  to  see  me  ;  that  he 
was  the  owner  of  all  this  country,  almost  to  Ishakki,  and 
was  not  willing  to  let  me  pass  through  it  to  another 
chief ;  that  if  I  had  come  to  preach,  I  had  gone  far 
enough  to  begin,  but  if  I  would  build  a  house  in  Ijaye, 
and  if  some  of  the  white  men  would  live  there,  Areh 
would  give  me  permission  and  messengers  to  go  where- 
ever  I  might  choose  at  some  future  time.  I  saw  at 
once  that  there  was  no  hope  of  further  exploration  at 
present,  without  incurring  the  risk  of  giving  such  of- 
fence to  Kumi,  that  he  might  entirely  forbid  missionary 
operations  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  was  useless 
to  reason  with  the  messengers,  who  had  no  discretionary 
powers,  and  as  I  had  not  yet  sent  forward  to  Ishakki 
for  carriers,  I  agreed  to  return  to  Ijaye. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  people  took  up  my 
luggage,  and  ran  cheerily  forward  to  Awaye.  The  gate 
stood  wide  to  receive  me,  and  I  was  greeted  by  many 
a  hearty  salutation  as  I  rode  through  the  streets  to  the 
residence  of  the  governor.  My  own  feelings,  however, 
were  far  from  cheerful.  My  ardent  and  too  precious 
hopes  were  blighted,  and  the  disappointment  preyed  so 
much  on  my- feelings,  in  spite  of  my  better  reason,  that 


172 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


I  fell  into  a  dysentery,  which  came  near  endangering 
my  life. 

Akiolla  requested  me  to  rest  a  few  days  at  Awaye,  till 
he  should  visit  several  neighboring  towns.  One  even- 
ing, he  returned  and  informed  me  that  the  people  had 
loaded  him  with  presents  in  the  towns  which  he  had 
visited,  and  that  I  must  wait  till  he  should  make  a 
tour  to  several  other  places.  Soon  after,  it  was  report- 
ed through  Awaye,  that  Daudu  was  extorting  tribute 
contrary  to  law,  that  he  was  a  bad  man,  and  had  spoiled 
his  name,  etc.  Fearing  that  these  extortions  were 
sanctioned  by  Kumi,  I  had  thoughts  of  refusing  to  visit 
him.  One  night,  Akiolla  came  into  town  in  great 
haste,  and  leaving  his  women  and  other  attendants 
with  Lashimeji,  posted  off  without  resting,  to  Ijaye. 
The  mystery  was  easily  explained.  Kumi  had  heard  of 
his  high-handed  measures,  and  was  so  much  enraged, 
that  he  had  sent  two  executioners  to  behead  him  His 
precipitate  flight  was  designed  to  escape  the  execution- 
ers, and  throw  himself  on  his  father's  mercy.  I  learned 
afterward,  that  when  he  arrived  at  Ijaye,  he  took  ref- 
uge in  the  house  of  the  balogun,  or  general,  who  could 
scarcely  prevail  on  Kumi  to  change  the  sentence  of 
death  into  that  of  degradation  and  banishment.  At 
last  it  was  agreed  that  Akiolla  should  be  expelled  from 
the  country,  that  his  wives  and  all  his  property,  except 
his  horse,  should  be  confiscated,  and  that  Kumi's  second 
son  should  receive  the  title  of  Daudu.  Akiolla  fled  to 
Attiba,  the  king,  who  at  first  received  him  with  favor, 
but  afterward  sent  him  away  for  fear  of  Kumi's  resent- 
ment. He  then  retired  to  the  eastern  borders  of  Yoru- 
ba,  and  entered  the  army  of  some  prince  in  that  region, 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


173 


where  he  still  remains.  On  his  father's  death,  he  will 
probably  make  war  on  Ijaye,  to  recover  his  rights  as 
hereditary  prince  of  that  city  and  its  dependent  territo- 
ries. Like  his  father,  and  unlike  his  younger  brother, 
he  is  a  man  of  unconquerable  will  and  powerful  intel- 
lect, and  I  have  little  doubt  that  he  may  yet  be  the 
ruler  of  Ijaye. 

These  untoward  events  involved  me  in  new  embar- 
rassments. I  was  not  free  to  proceed  to  Ishakki,  neither 
would  Lashimeji  permit  me  to  visit  Ijaye,  without 
again  hearing  from  Kumi.  At  last  the  desired  permis- 
sion was  obtained,  and  I  departed  in  company  with 
some  of  the  governor's  people.  To  avoid  going  through 
Isehin,  where  they  were  not  willing  to  see  me,  we  took 
the  prairie  road  to  the  river  Ogun,  and  traveled  the 
greater  part  of  the  distance  without  seeing  a  farm  or  a 
human  being.  The  country  is  well  stocked  with  ele- 
phants and  buffaloes.  Here  is  a  fine  country  from 
twenty  to  thirty  miles  in  width,  and  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  in  length,  almost  without  in- 
habitants. It  reaches  nearly  to  Abbeokuta  on  one  side, 
and  to  the  Niger  on  the  other,  and  indeed  we  may  say 
that  the  desolated  Egba  country  belongs  to  the  same 
great  wilderness.  It  is  capable  of  giving  ample  susten- 
ance to  three  hundred  thousand  colonists  ;  and  can 
boast  of  unusual  advantages  in  regard  to  soil,  climate, 
and  facilities  for  traffic. 

We  found  the  village  at  the  river  Ogun  overflowing 
full  of  travelers,  which  is  no  unusual  occurrence  in  this 
land  of  caravans.  Of  course  I  preached  and  talked 
to  as  many  as  possible.  After  lying  down,  I  heard  some 
of  the  travelers  conversing  solemnly  and  sensibly  about 


174 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


the  Gospel.  Such  an  incident,  here  on  the  wild  banks 
of  an  unknown  river,  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  more 
than  repaid  me  for  all  the  toils  and  troubles  I  had  seen 
in  the  country. 

As  the  governor  of  the  village  refused  to  let  me  pro- 
ceed till  he  should  consult  Kumi,  I  was  obliged  to  re- 
main till  messengers  should  go  nearly  twenty  miles  to 
Ijaye  and  return.  I  attempted  to  amuse  myself  shoot- 
ing birds,  but  soon  grew  weary  of  the  sport.  Seeing  a 
fine  school  of  large  fish  in  the  shallow  water  of  the 
river,  near  the  village,  I  made  inquiries,  and  was  in- 
formed that  the  people  worship  them  as  a  sort  of  orisha 
or  idol.  They  were  white  scaly  fish,  with  large  mouths, 
something  between  a  mullet  and  a  trout.  They  were 
very  gentle,  and  would  almost  run  out  of  the  water  to 
meet  the  women  who  fed  them.  To  kill  one  of  these 
fish,  would  of  course  be  sacrilege. 

The  river  at  this  point  is  about  sixty  yards  wide,  and 
considerably  deeper  than  a  man's  head.  As  usual  in 
Yoruba,  the  people  have  no  canoes.  Things  are  carried 
over  on  large  gourds,  which  contain  sufficient  air  to 
float  three  or  four  hundred  pounds.  The  gourd  is  di- 
rected by  the  ferryman,  who  swims  behind  it  and  pushes 
it  forward  with  his  hands.  When  a  person  is  to  be  con- 
veyed, he  and  the  ferryman  sit  down  up  to  the  neck  in 
the  water,  with  the  gourd  between  them,  and  embrace 
it,  taking  hold  of  each  other's  arms  with  their  hands,  so 
that  the  ferryman  may  swim  and  push  his  gourd  and  his 
passenger  across  together.  For  this  comfortable  fer- 
riage, the  traveler  pays  two  hundred  cowries,  which  is 
ten  cents. 

The  messengers  were  not  long  in  returning  from  Ijaye, 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


175 


with  orders  for  the  white  man  to  proceed.  I  laid  my 
clothing  on  the  gonrd  to  keep  them  dry,  and  swam  the 
river  in  my  own  way.  The  land  for  several  miles  was 
level  and  tolerably  fertile,  but  unoccupied,  after  which 
it  was  broken,  rich,  and  covered  with  luxuriant  crops  of 
Indian  corn.  We  approached  Ijaye  from  the  north.  I 
observed  that  the  women  whom  we  met  were  not  afraid 
of  me  as  in  other  places,  and  my  attendants  told  me 
that  some  took  me  for  a  Puloh,  while  others  contended 
that  I  must  be  a  white  man.  An  immense  crowd  follow- 
ed me  through  the  streets  to  Area's  house,  where  many 
were  already  assembled.  The  old  chief  gave  me  a 
hearty  reception,  and  sent  nearly  half  a  bushel  of  eggs 
after  me  to  my  lodgings.  All  the  natives  suppose  that 
eggs  are  the  favorite  diet  of  white  men. 

The  good  people  of  Ijaye  were  mad  with  cariosity 
to  see  me.  In  the  house  they  thronged  me  to  suffoca- 
tion ;  they  blockaded  the  streets  wherever  I  went,  and 
if  I  rode  into  the  farms,  they  swarmed  after  me  like 
an  army.  To  preach  was  to  waste  words  in  the  air  ; 
they  could  do  nothing  but  stare  and  wonder. 

Kumi  never  once  alluded  to  the  manner  in  which  I 
had  been  brought  to  Ijaye,  but  he  sent  for  me  to  his 
house  and  his  garden,  again  and  again,  in  order  to  hear 
the  Gospel,  and  ask  questions  about  its  requirements. 
At  last  he  told  me  to  ride  over  the  town,  and  select 
whatever  place  I  chose  to  build  on.  There  was  only 
one  good  place  vacant  within  the  walls,  and  of  course  I 
selected  that.  The  people  who  had  followed  me  object- 
ed strenuously  to  this  selection,  declaring  that  the  place 
was  haunted  by  a  malignant  spirit  called  Akalasho, 
who  had  uniformly  destroyed  every  man  that  attempted 


176 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


to  settle  there.  Areh  himself  confirmed  this  report,  and 
refused  to  give  me  the  land.  I  was  obliged  to  select 
an  inferior  place,  and  this  he  said  should  be  reserved  for 
me  till  I  could  go  to  America  for  more  missionaries  and 
return.  My  travels  had  now  come  to  their  natural  termi- 
nation. Having  no  money  to  build  with,  in  Ijaye,  I  re- 
solved to  return  at  once  to  America  and  report  progress. 
Leaving  most  of  my  luggage  with  Kumi,  to  wit,  a  cou- 
ple of  nearly  empty  boxes,  I  took  the  remainder,  and  set 
out  for  the  coast,  to  seek  a  passage  to  some  civilized 
country.  It  was  now  June,  which  is  the  wettest  part 
of  the  year,  "but  I  was  too  impatient  to  wait  for  better 
weather.  The  road  from  Ijaye,  to  Abbeokuta,  is  little 
more  than  two  days'  journey,  but  it  had  now  been  closed 
for  a  long  time  in  consequence  of  enmity  between  the 
two  cities.  It  was  said  to  be  so  much  infested  by  rob- 
bers, that  I  durst  not  travel  it,  but  as  I  could  not  con- 
ceive how  a  road,  which  no  one  had  traveled  for  years, 
could  be  much  infested  by  robbers,  I  resolved  to  risk  the 
danger,  rather  than  go  twice  as  far  by  a  frequented 
route.  They  finally  yielded  to  my  determination,  and  I 
hired  two  men  to  accompany  us  to  the  borders  of  the 
Ijaye  farms,  and  put  us  in  the  right  way.  This  being 
Friday,  we  pushed  on  in  hopes  of  reaching  our  destina- 
tion to-morrow  night,  or  at  least  in  time  to  attend  church 
on  Sunday.  Night  overtook  us  in  the  midst  of  the  prai- 
ries, and  we  kindled  our  camp  fire  on  a  flat  rock.  By  four 
o'clock  next  morning,  we  were  up  and  moving.  After 
pushing  through  the  tall  wet  grass,  for  two  or  three 
miles,  we  entered  a  forest,  as  dark  as  Egypt,  where  noth- 
ing but  the  density  of  the  bushes  could  keep  us  in  the 
narrow  path.    We  groped  on,  hoping  soon  to  emerge 


TRAVELS  IN  YORUBA. 


177 


into  the  prairie,  and  presently  found  ourselves  on  the 
banks  of  a  river  eighty  yards  wide,  which  was  evidently 
too  deep  to  be  forded.  Ever  and  anon,  some  sportive 
fish  leaped  up  and  fell  back  with  a  plash,  into  the  water. 
"  What  river  is  this  V}  I  inquired.  None  of  the  party 
had  been  here  before,  but  they  thought  it  must  be  the 
Ossa,  a  tributary  of  the  Ogun.  When  it  was  day,  we 
discovered  a  dim  path  which  wound  through  the  forest 
for  some  distance,  and  brought  us  to  the  stream  at  a 
place  where  it  was  less  than  twenty  yards  in  width. 
We  passed  over  and  pushed  on  through  the  forest,  for 
the  prairie  on  the  south  of  the  Ossa,  but  were  soon 
brought  to  a  stand  by  seeing  the  broad  river  once  more 
before  us.  The  width  and  appearance  of  the  stream  indi- 
cated that  it  might  be  fordable,  but  the  fear  of  the 
water,  and  of  the  crocodiles  which  might  be  in  it,  de- 
terred my  natives  from  attempting  to  wade  over.  Croc- 
odiles are  not  apt  to  infest  a  stream  where  it  is  broad, 
rapid  and  shallow.  Laying  off  my  clothes,  and  taking 
a  long  staff  in  my  hand,  I  felt  my  way  across  the  river, 
and  found  the  deepest  places  scarcely  four  feet.  Our 
course  now  lay  southwest  through  a  fine  uninhabited 
country,  full  of  wild  beasts  and  honey  bees.  Toward 
night  we  arrived  at  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  thoroughly  drenched 
by  successive  showers.  We  were  still  two  days'  journey 
from  Abbeokuta,  at  which  place  we  arrived  on  Tuesday 
evening,  five  days  after  leaving  Ijaye. 

The  expulsion  of  Kosokkoh  from  Lagos,  had  opened 
the  Ogun  to  the  Egbas,  but  there  was  little  navigation 
as  yet,  because  the  hostile  Ijebus,  on  the  right  bank, 
were  in  the  habit  of  shooting  the  people  in  the  canoes. 
Dangerous  as  the  roads  might  be,  I  was  obliged  to  go, 
8* 


178 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


and  after  some  delay,  I  succeeded  in  finding  two  men 
who  agreed  to  carry  me  in  a  little  canoe.  Hoisting  the 
stars  and  stripes  on  a  bamboo  staff,  and  laying  six  load- 
ed guns  at  my  feet,  we  pushed  off  into  the  rapid  cur- 
rent, and  were  soon  gliding  through  the  hostile  district. 
From  time  to  time,  the  canoe-men  pointed  out  places 
on  the  bank  from  which  the  Ijebus  had  recently  fired 
into  canoes.  The  river  was  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  wide,  and  deep  enough  for  a  large  steam- 
boat. The  whole  country  is  covered  with  a  heavy 
forest  and  almost  without  inhabitants.  If  any  of  our 
fashionable  philanthropists  are  silly  enough  to  sigh 
for  "  a  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness,"  I  would  recom- 
mend the  banks  of  some  river  in  Guinea.  His  position 
would  have  at  least  one  advantage — to  keep  him  out  of 
mischief.  We  slept  the  first  night  among  some  fisher- 
men on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  Next  day  we  ar- 
rived at  Lagos,  where  I  found  several  English  mer- 
chants and  missionaries.  The  effects  of  the  recent 
bombardment  were  every  where  visible.  After  waiting 
about  a  month  for  a  passage,  I  embarked  on  a  Hamburg 
brig,  and  made  a  most  disagreeable  voyage  of  one  hun- 
dred and  three  days  to  London.  Thence  I  went  to  Amer- 
ica, and  sailed  again  for  Africa,  with  two  other  mis- 
sionaries, on  the  6th  of  July,  1853. 


YORUBA  MISSION. 


179 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

BEGINNING  OF   THE  YORUBA  MISSION. 

RETURN  TO  AFRICA —  SICKNESS  — WAR  —  DEATH  OF  MISSIONARIES  —  STA- 
TION  AT  IJAYE  ERECTING    HOUSES  —  BAPTISMS  —  ARRIVAL   OF  MR. 

CLARK  —  PREACHING  —  EXPLORING  TOUR  —  REMOVAL  TO  OGEOMOSHAW. 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1853,  J.  S.  Dennard,  J.  H. 
Lacy,  and  myself,  with  our  wives,  landed  at  Lagos  for 
the  purpose  of  proceeding  to  Ijaye  in  Yoruba.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dennard  were  both  attacked  with  fever  on  the 
same  day  that  we  landed,  and  were  confined  to  their 
beds  for  about  a  w^eek.  After  their  recovery  we  were 
still  unable  to  proceed  on  our  journey;  for  Kosokkoh 
had  assembled  his  forces  to  retake  Lagos  from  the  Eng- 
lish, and  the  lake  and  river  were  infested  by  his  canoes, 
while  the  land  routes  were  in  possession  of  his  adher- 
ents. Finally,  the  officers  of  the  British  squadron  re- 
solved on  a  gunboat  expedition  to  drive  the  enemy  from 
the  lake.  They  were  not  able  to  capture  any  of  the 
armed  canoes,  but  they  drove  them  into  the  eastern 
Ossa  river,  and  burnt  two  or  three  villages  of  the  dis- 
affected natives.  This  we  thought  was  our  best  time  to 
risk  a  voyage  to  Abbeokuta.  Should  we  delay  a  few 
days,  the  armed  canoes  might  return,  and  the  terrified 
natives  in  the  villages  would  take  courage  to  murder 
us,  which  they  would  hardly  venture  to  do  at  present. 
We  engaged  three  or  four  canoes  to  convey  ourselves 


180 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


and  property,  and  left  Lagos  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  not  without  apprehension  of  meeting  with 
rough  treatment  on  the  lake  or  at  some  of  the  villages 
on  the  river.  Mr.  Dennard  and  myself  thought  it  law- 
ful to  charge  our  double-barrelled  guns  with  heavy  shot. 
On  arriving  at  the  mouth  of  Agboyi  creek,  which  we 
were  to  enter,  we  were  pleased  to  see  a  white  flag  sus- 
pended from  the  branches  of  a  tree.  Not  far  from  the 
village  was  a  strong  stockade-fence  across  the  creek, 
with  an  opening  large  enough  for  canoes,  but  too  small 
for  a  gun-boat.  The  villagers  were  surly  and  taciturn, 
and  we  were  glad  to  find  ourselves  safely  beyond  their 
borders.  By  the  evening  of  the  second  day  we  had 
passed  the  northern  boundary  of  the  dreaded  Ijebu 
country,  and  entered  the  territory  of  our  friends,  the 
Egbas.  Soon  after  reaching  Abbeokuta,  the  remainder 
of  our  party  were  laid  up  with  African  fever.  Mr.  Lacy's 
eyes  were  so  much  affected  that  he  returned  home  to 
avoid  total  blindness.  Mr.  Dennard  returned  to  Lagos 
to  begin  a  station  there  for  tl*e  purpose  of  forwarding 
supplies  to  the  interior.  His  wife  died  of  fever  early  in 
January,  and  he  then  removed  to  Abbeokuta,  where  he 
died  in  June,  1854.  He  had  obtained  land  for  a  station 
at  Abbeokuta,  but  had  not  yet  commenced  building. 
The  station  is  to  be  resumed. 

About  two  months  after  landing  at  Lagos,  myself  and 
wife  proceeded  alone  and  sorrowful  to  Ijaye,  to  begin 
the  Yoruba  mission.  Mr.  Mann,  of  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society,  had  preceded  us  by  several  months.  Kumi 
welcomed  me  back  to  Ijaye,  and  told  me  that  my  land 
and  the  boxes  I  had  left  in  his  charge,  were  all  safe.  I 
rented  two  rooms  in  a  native  house,  to  live  in  till  I  could 


YORUBA  MISSION. 


181 


build.  They  were  about  seven  feet  wide,  and  scarcely 
six  feet  high  to  the  ceiling,  with  very  low  doors,  and  no 
windows.  The  heat  was  intolerable,  especially  to  my 
wife,  who  was  in  bad  health,  and  not  accustomed  to 
African  weather.  But  there  was  no  remedy,  except  in 
building  a  better  house  ;  and  to  this  work  I  devoted 
my  sell  with  so  much  zeal,  that  I  had  little  time,  and,  I 
confess,  but  little  inclination  to  preach,  for  several 
months.  The  first  labor  was  to  clear  the  land  of  bushes 
and  wild  sugar-cane,  a  gigantic  and  useless  sorghum 
twenty  feet  high.  Some  of  the  chiefs  volunteered  their 
people  to  assist  me  ;  but  I  found  this  plan  so  uncertain 
and  expensive,  that  I  resolved  to  hire  laborers  by  the 
day  for  the  future.  In  clearing  the  land,  we  discovered 
and  killed  two  or  three  civet-cats. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  mortar  for  the  walls  of 
the  house.  My  laborers  were  now  divided  into  several 
parties  :  1,  men  and  boys  were  employed  to  "dig  dirt" 
to  make  the  mortar ;  2,  women  and  girls  to  "  bring 
water"  in  large  calabashes  or  earthen  pots;  3,  others 
to  "  tread  mortar  f  4,  others  to  "make  balls"  half  as 
large  as  one's  head  of  the  tempered  clay  ;  5,  others  to 
"  carry  balls"  to  the  building  ;  6,  "  builders,"  who  made 
walls  of  the  soft  balls  by  throwing  them  with  force 
upon  the  wall  already  built,  and  patting  the  new  wall 
into  a  proper  form;  %  girls  or  boys  to  "handballs" 
from  the  ground  or  scaffold  to  the  builders  ;  8,  a  "  wall 
trimmer,"  who  plumbed  the  walls,  and  trimmed  them, 
while  yet  soft,  with  a  wooden  shovel ;  9,  "  stick  cutters," 
who  brought  rafters,  etc.,  from  the  woods;  10,  "grass 
getters,"  who  brought  in  grass  for  thatching ;  and, 
finally,  "  thatchers,"  who  covered  the  house  when  fin- 


182 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ished.  The  wall  is  built  in  layers,  a  foot  and  a  half  or 
two  feet  high,  and  each  layer  must  dry  a  day  or  two  in 
the  sun  before  receiving  another,  otherwise  the  house 
will  fall. 

When  properly  built  and  well  dried,  such  a  wall  is 
very  strong,  and  if  neatly  plastered,  is  equal  in  appear- 
ance and  comfort  to  any  other  wall. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  it  kept  me  busy 
to  superintend  all  parts  of  the  work.  But  worse  than 
all,  there  were  some  things,  as  plumbing,  and  occasion- 
ally trimming,  which  I  was  obliged  to  do  with  my  own 
hands.  In  about  ten  weeks  the  walls  were  finished. 
Then  we  put  on  the  joists,  and  a  lathing  of  palm  leaves, 
and  made  a  fire-proof  ceiling  of  earth  or  mortar.  Pre- 
paring the  joists  and  thatching,  required  two  weeks 
more  ;  so  that  we  removed  in  our  house  about  the  first 
of  February,  1854.  The  floor  was  made  of  beaten  clay, 
and  neither  it  nor  the  clay  walls  were  fully  dry,  which 
endangered  our  lives. 

In  June,  1854,  I  erected  a  little  chapel,  twenty  by 
thirty  feet,  which  was  large  enough  for  our  congrega- 
tion. In  July,  I  baptized  a  man,  and  not  long  after, 
a  woman.  In  September  our  hearts  were  made  glad  by 
the  arrival  of  Wm.  H.  Clark,  as  a  missionary  of  our 
board.  Not  long  after  this  he  baptized  a  man  and  a 
woman,  and  I  baptized  another  man.  We  both  remained 
together  at  Ijaye  till  the  autumn  of  1855,  when  I  re- 
moved to  Ogbomoshaw,  fifty  miles  further  in  the  interior, 
and  began  another  station.  A  few  months  previously 
to  this  removal,  J.  M.  Harden,  a  colored  man  from 
Liberia,  began  a  station  at  Lagos  ;  so  that  we  now  had 
three  missionaries  and  three  stations. 


YORUBA  MISSION. 


183 


Our  labors  during  the  year  1855,  consisted  of  building, 
preaching,  and  traveling.  Mr.  Harden  erected  a  com- 
modious mission  house  at  Lagos.  Mr.  Clark  and  myself 
completed  a  large  one  at  Ijaye,  designed  in  part  for  the 
accommodation  of  new  missionaries  till  they  shall  pass 
through  the  acclimation  fever. 

Our  preaching  labors  were  incessant  and  ardent,  so 
that  every  corner  of  Ijaye  heard  the  Gospel.  A  volume 
might  be  filled  with  interesting  incidents  connected 
with  these  labors.  Many  times  the  people  heard  with 
such  rapt  attention,  that  a  stranger  would  have  thought 
that  the  whole  town  was  on  the  point  of  turning  to 
God.  Others  opposed,  at  times,  with  equal  ardor.  In 
one  district  of  the  town,  the  opposition  was  so  violent 
that  I  could  not  make  my  appearance  but  they  would 
begin  to  cry  out,  ckjpa  orisha — "  wonderful  orisha."  One 
evening,  after  meeting  with  two  or  three  such  recep- 
tions, I  was  moving  homeward  rather  sadly,  when  a 
company  of  men  who  were  sitting  under  a  tree  requested 
me  to  preach  to  them.  A  little  further  on,  the  request 
was  repeated  by  others.  People  often  came  to  our  house 
on  purpose  to  hear ;  others  came  merely  to  look  at  us, 
and  their  visits  were  often  annoying,  but  our  duty  to 
Christ  and  to  souls  required  us  to  exercise  as  much 
patience  as  possible.  Some  missionaries  refuse  to  re- 
ceive promiscuous  visitors  into  their  piazzas,  but  I  dare 
not  say  that  they  are  guiltless.  It  is  not  enough  to  say 
that  the  people  may  hear  the  Gospel  in  the  chapel.  We 
are  commanded  to  be  "  instant  in  season  and  out  of 
season,"  in  preaching  the  word.  Conversation  is  more 
useful  than  technical  declamation.  The  friendship 
gained  by  social  intercourse  has  a  powerful  influence 


184 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


over  the  heart  of  the  heathen,  and  the  exclusiveness  and 
crabbedness  of  missionaries^  excites  the  ill  will  of  the 
natives. 

Most  of  the  missionaries  in  Africa  preach  in  English. 
In  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia,  and  at  some  other  places, 
the  native  must  understand  English  or  live  and  die 
without  hearing  the  Gospel,  though  it  is  administered 
regularly  in  his  town.  Very  few  of  those  who  pretend 
to  understand  English,  can  comprehend  what  is  said  in 
the  fine  classical  style  of  the  missionary.  Sometimes 
the  preacher  is  a  German,  whose  accent  would  puzzle 
an  Englishman,  much  more  an  African  interpreter. 
Vast  amounts  of  preaching  are  thrown  away  by  mis- 
sionaries. At  Cape  Coast  Castle  and  other  places,  a 
native  man  interprets  from  the  lips  of  the  English 
speaking  preacher.  What  the  interpreter  calls  "  high 
English,"  or  "  deep  English,"  is  often  an  unknown 
tongue  to  him,  and  of  course  he  can  not  tell  the  people 
what  the  preacher  has  said,  though  he  is  sure  to  tell 
them  something.  Under  the  best  circumstances,  the 
Gospel  is  much  impaired  by  passing  through  the  mind 
and  lips  of  an  ignorant  interpreter.  Even  some  of  the 
missionaries  who  speak  the  native  tongue,  do  it  most 
imperfectly,  for  they  have  never  intended  to  undergo 
the  patient  and  protracted  labor  which  would  make 
them  masters  of  the  language.  The  one  great  fault  of 
some  missionaries  is  a  desire  to  discharge  their  duties 
with  the  least  possible  trouble.  They  can  not  endure 
the  annoyance  of  intercourse  with  the  natives;  they  can 
not  submit  to  the  toil  of  mastering  a  barbarous  tongue; 
they  can  not  preach  and  talk  everywhere  in  addition  to 
the  chapel  services. 


YORUBA  MISSION. 


185 


In  February,  1855,  Mr.  Clark  visited  Ogbomoshaw,  a 
large  town  fifty  miles  northeast  of  Ijaye.  He  was  so 
cordially  received  by  chiefs  and  people,  that  he  resolved 
to  make  this  his  field  of  labor.  The  propriety  of  this 
location  depended  somewhat  on  the  willingness  of  Ilor- 
rin  to  allow  us  an  open  road  to  the  interior.  We  still 
felt  that  Central  Africa  was  our  destination,  and  if  we 
could  not  be  allowed  to  protract  our  line  of  stations 
through  Ilorrin,  it  would  be  proper  to  neglect  Ogbomo- 
shaw for  the  present,  and  locate  ourselves  in  Ishakki. 
To  ascertain  the  feelings  of  Ilorrin  toward  the  missiona- 
ries, I  made  a  visit  to  that  town  in  April,  1855.  The 
king  promised  to  give  us  land  for  a  station,  and  wre 
hoped  rather  than  believed  that  he  would  keep  his  pro- 
mise. In  July  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Clark  departed  on 
a  long  tour  to  Ishakki,  Igboho  and  Ilorrin,  to  ascertain 
the  prospect  of  extension  and  usefulness  in  that  direc- 
tion. His  reception  was  very  encouraging,  and  he  re- 
turned, believing  that  the  whole  country  occupied  by 
the  heathen,  was  now  open  to  missionaries. 

Not  long  after  Mr.  Clark's  return  from  this  tour,  I 
left  Ijaye  with  my  wife  and  household  affairs,  to  settle 
in  Ogbomoshaw,  or  if  possible,  in  Ilorrin.  None  of  my 
journeys  in  Africa  had  heretofore  been  so  full  of  vexa- 
tions as  this.  The  hammock-bearers  who  carried  my 
wife,  were  so  badly  trained,  and  withal  so  careless, 
that  she  was  in  constant  jeopardy  of  a  dangerous  fall. 
The  luggage  bearers,  of  whom  there  were  about  thirty, 
were  more  quarrelsome  and  untractable  than  any  I  had 
met  with  since  I  left  the  Golah  bush  in  1850.  And  to 
crown  all,  it  was  the  rainy  season,  and  both  of  us  were 
in  bad  health. 


186 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Our  first  (lay's  journey  was  scarcely  a  dozen  miles. 
Next  day  we  trudged  on  through  muddy  forests  and 
prairies  to  the  river  Obba,  which  was  now  swollen  by 
the  rains,  and  eight  or  ten  feet  in  depth.  I  persuaded 
the  superintendent  of  the  ferrymen  to  give  us  an  early 
passage  across  the  stream  next  morning,  but  when  the 
time  arrived,  he  refused  to  carry  Mrs.  Bowen  and  the 
luggage  over  unless  I  would  pay  exorbitant  ferriage. 
I  soon  discovered  that  all  these  troubles  were  fomented 
by  several  Guinea  men,  whom  he  had  unfortunately  em- 
ployed as  carriers,  but  it  was  not  possible  to  dismiss 
them  here  in  the  bush  and  to  engage  others. 

It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  before  we  were  ready  to 
commence  crossing  the  river,  and  the  crossing  itself 
was  a  far  more  serious  matter  than  all  the  obstinacy 
of  the  natives.  My  wife  was  obliged  to  float  across  by 
means  of  a  large  calabash,  as  described  in  a  previous 
chapter.*  She  waded  into  the  water  to  the  depth  of 
three  or  four  feet,  and  embraced  the  huge  buoyant 
gourd  in  her  arms.  The  ferryman,  standing  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  gourd,  embraced  it  also,  taking  hold  of 
her  arms  above  the  elbow,  and  in  this  manner  she  was 
propelled  across  the  stream  up  to  the  neck  in  water. 
To  encourage  her,  and  to  render  assistance  if  needed,  I 
swam  close  behind  the  ferryman,  and  was  truly  glad  to 
see  that  her  countenance  indicated  no  apprehension  of 
danger.  Her  servant  was  floated  across  by  another 
ferryman,  and  she  was  soon  redressed  and  ready  to 
pursue  the  journey. 

Our  luggage  had  been  brought  over  in  good  condition 


Page  174. 


YORUBA  MISSION.  187 


on  the  calabashes,  but  the  carriers  were  still  on  the 
other  side.  They  now  informed  me  that  they  would  go 
no  further,  unless  I  would  increase  their  wages.  I  told 
them  that  I  had  paid  them  enough  already,  that  no  one 
had  ever  treated  me  so  meanly  before  in  Yoruba,  and 
that  I  would  not  give  a  single  cowry  more  to  such  mean 
fellows.  "Then  we  shall  return  home,"  they  replied. 
"  Go  and  welcome/7  I  answered,  "  and  I  shall  leave  your 
loads  here  on  the  bank  of  the  river."  So  saying,  I  set 
my  wife  on  the  horse,  and  departed,  walking  before  her, 
regardless  of  mud  and  water.  Two  or  three  hours  after, 
when  Mrs.  Bowen  and  myself  were  both  much  fatigued, 
the  rogues  came  up  with  us  bringing  all  the  loads  and 
the  hammock  as  cheerfully  as  if  nothing  had  been  amiss. 
If  they  had  not  come,  we  should  have  been  obliged 
to  sit  by  a  fire  all  night,  and  I  found  that  the  journey, 
still  two  days  to  Ogbomoshaw,  would  have  been  more 
than  Mrs.  Bowen  could  well  accomplish.  I  have  left 
my  carriers  before,  when  alone,  but  will  never  attempt 
it  again  when  traveling  with  my  wife.  I  had  no  thought, 
in  fact,  that  riding  on  horse-back  would  have  given  her 
so  much  fatigue.  After  all  our  difficulties,  we  arrived 
safely  at  our  destination,  on  the  fourth  day  after  leaving 
Ijaye.  Every  body  condemned  the  bad  conduct  of  the 
carriers,  who  now  appeared  to  be  heartily  ashamed. 

After  renting  a  house  and  making  all  possible  arrange- 
ments for  the  comfort  of  Mrs.  Bowen,  I  visited  Ilorrin, 
to  make  a  second  and  decisive  effort  to  settle  in  that 
Mahometan  town  as  a  missionary. 


188  CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

VISITS  TO  ILORRIN  IN  1  8  5  5. 

DEPARTURE  FOR  ILORRIN — OPPOSITION  —  THE  COUNTRY  —  A  VILLAGE 
PRIEST  —  RECEPTION  AT  ILORRIN  —  CONFERENCES  —  ARABS  —  LARGE 
TOWNS — DAS  ABA  THE  CRUEL  —  PAST  EVENTS  AT  ILORRIN  —  THE  PU- 
LOHS  —  MEN  WITH  TAILS — A  SECOND  VISIT  TO  ILORRIN  —  NEW  MIS- 
SIONARIES—  DISTANCES  FROM  LAGOS. 

Ilorrin,  (written  Alori  in  Arabic,)  is  the  town  which 
Lander  mentions,  under  the  name  of  Alorie.  Its  inhabi- 
tants, consisting  of  Pulohs,  Hausas,  Kanikes  and  Yoru- 
bas,  are  mostly  bigoted  Mahometans.  The  Pulohs 
are  the  ruling  people,  the  king  himself  being  of  that 
tribe,  and  the  Yorubas  are  the  most  numerous.  For 
several  years  past,  the  missionaries  have  frequently 
met  with  Ilorrin  traders  at  Abbeokuta,  Ijaye  and  other 
places,  and  the  stories  which  they  told  of  the  extent 
and  civilization  of  their  town,  excited  our  desires  to 
visit  them.  When  I  proposed  to  go  there  in  1852,  they 
affirmed  that  no  Christian  could  be  permitted  to  enter 
the  town.  If  I  should  attempt  to  go,  the  king  would 
send  messengers  to  meet  me  and  compel  me  to  return. 
This  story  and  others  like  it,  and  even  worse,  were  re- 
peated by  the  Ilorrin  people  who  came  to  Ijaye  in  1853 
and  '54.  The  road  moreover,  was  infested  with  robbers, 
and  was  often  dangerous.  Some  of  the  people,  how- 
ever encouraged  me  to  go,  and  affirmed  that  a  large 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


189 


minority  of  the  citizens  of  Ilorrin  were  heathens,  who 
would  be  glad  to  hear  the  Gospel. 

AVhen  I  resolved  to  visit  Ilorrin  in  1855,  I  asked 
Kumi  to  send  an  official  messenger  with  me  that  I  might 
have  the  protection  of  Ijaye,  but  he  considered  it  a  deli- 
cate matter,  and  dissuaded  me  from  going.  According 
to  custom,  I  ought  to  have  sent  to  the  king  for  per- 
mission to  visit  him,  which  would  have  placed  me  under 
his  protection  ;  but  I  felt  certain  that  he  would  not 
suffer  me  to  come,  and  I  entertained  some  little  hope 
that  if  I  should  approach  him  boldly  and  unreservedly 
as  the  messenger  of  Christ,  he  might  agree  to  let  me 
live  in  Ilorrin  and  preach  the  Gospel.  For  the  sake  of 
making  the  least  imposing  appearance  possible,  I  se- 
lected two  little  boys  as  my  only  attendants.  I  believe 
that  almost  every  body  in  Ijaye  disapproved  of  my  go- 
ing. The  Mahometans  were  vexed,  and  the  heathens 
freely  expressed  their  fears,  that  the  bad  people  of  Ilor- 
rin would  murder  me. 

At  that  time,  the  caravans  were  guarded  from  one 
town  to  another,  by  soldiers  who  were  sent  by  the 
chiefs  to  protect  the  traders  from  robbers.  A  great 
company  were  going  from  Ijaye  to  Ogbomoshaw,  and  I 
fell  in  among  them  without  ceremony,  as  if  I  had  been  a 
native.  After  traveling  several  miles  through  farms, 
we  reached  a  forest  country  which  extended  twenty 
miles  or  more  to  the  Obba  river.  We  encamped  at 
Oddeh,  a  farm  village,  the  Mahometans  apart  from  the 
heathens,  and  myself  on  the  outskirts  of  the  latter.  It 
is  not  often  that  the  natives  are  rude  or  insulting  in 
their  behavior,  but  the  Ilorrin  Mahometans  on  this  oc- 


190 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


casion,  appeared  to  cast  off  all  restraint.  Some  declared 
that  the  king  would  order  me  back  before  I  reached 
Ilorrin  ;  others,  that  no  one  would  give  or  sell  me  any 
thing  to  eat  ;  others,  that  my  boys  should  be  taken  and 
sold  for  slaves,  and  others,  that  I  should  be  killed.  The 
heathens  took  my  part,  but  urged  me  to  return  home. 
Next  night  we  slept  at  the  Obba  river,  where  there  are 
three  high  mountains  rising  abruptly  from  the  plain. 
The  Mahometans  renewed  their  opposition.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  we  passed  through  a  beautiful  prairie  coun- 
try, and  arrived  at  Ogbomoshaw.  The  Mahometans 
renewed  their  threats  and  insults,  and  the  heathens 
begged  me  to  go  no  further. 

During  the  two  or  three  days  which  we  remained  at 
Ogbomoshaw,  I  traveled  over  the  town,  and  preached 
to  the  people.  Some  approved  and  others  contradicted. 
When  the  caravan  assembled  at  the  gates  they  appeared 
to  be  three  thousand  strong.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
my  old  persecutors  so  mild  and  courteous.  As  I  turned 
away  from  a  party  with  whom  I  had  been  conversing,  one 
of  them  observed,  "  That  man  knows  very  well  what  he 
is  doing."  An  old  market  woman,  who  sat  near  the 
gate,  said  to  me,  "  Don't  be  afraid  of  these  Ilorrin  people. 
They  came  here  once  to  fight  with  us,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  God  our  Lord,  they  would  have  destroyed  us; 
but  we  drove  them  away.  Go  on,  and  don't  be  afraid." 
We  encamped  that  night  on  the  Obba,  five  or  six  miles 
from  town.  The  country  next  day  was  prairie,  rather 
thickly  covered  with  low  crooked  trees.  About  twenty 
miles  from  Ogbomoshaw,  we  crossed  the  first  stream 
which  flows  to  the  Niger.    Several  plants  which  are 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


191 


common  nearer  the  coast,  were  no  longer  seen,  and  I 
now  began  to  meet  with  plants  and  birds  which  I  had 
not  seen  before  in  Africa. 

About  sunset  I  stopped  at  one  of  the  numerous  vil- 
lages which  lie  around  Ilorrin.  The  venerable  old  Ma- 
hometan priest,  or  religious  teacher  of  the  village,  came 
to  see  me,  with  a  present  of  eggs.  After  he  retired, 
some  of  the  villagers  told  me  that  he  was  accustomed  to 
say,  "  It  is  not  the  Mahometan  or  the  heathen  who  will 
be  saved,  but  the  man  who  serves  God  in  his  heart."  I 
was  not  prepared  to  hear  such  a  doctrine  in  a  suburban 
village  of  Ilorrin.  The  people  listened  to  the  Gospel  at- 
tentively, and  raised  no  objections. 

On  arriving  at  Ilorrin  next  morning,  I  rode  through 
the  first  and  second  gates  without  ceremony,  and  alight- 
ed under  a  tree.  " Why  did  he  come  in?"  exclaimed 
one  of  the  gate  keepers.  "  Stop  there  ;  put  his  loads 
down  outside."  The  carriers  put  clown  my  loads  as  di- 
rected, and  I  waited  a  short  time  to  see  what  would 
follow.  After  a  little,  I  walked  good-naturedly  into 
the  gate  house,  and  asked  for  water,  which  was  brought 
by  a  timid  girl.  "  Why  didn't  you  send  a  messenger, 
to  let  the  king  know  you  were  coming  ?  n  inquired  the 
old  captain  of  the  gate.  "  Because  I  am  a  messenger 
myself,"  I  replied. .  A  little  conversation  put  him  in  a 
better  humor,  and  he  sent  men  to  inform  the  king  of  my 
arrival. 

In  about  two  hours  orders  came  from  the  king  to  let 
me  enter  the  town.  A  noisy  crowd  of  people  ran  before 
and  followed  after  us.  I  was  first  conducted  to  the 
house  of  Dangarri,  the  prime  minister,  and  then,  after 
some  consultation,  I  was  delivered  to  Nasamu,  the  exe- 


192 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


cutioner,  who  carried  rne  to  his  house,  and  informed  me 
that  I  must  not  go  out  into  the  street.  For  several  days 
I  could  not  walk  across  the  yard,  but  he  or  one  of  his 
men  would  be  at  my  heels.  All  this  wTasvery  annoying, 
but  I  resolved  to  keep  quiet  and  cheerful,  as  if  I  were 
not  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  was  virtually  a  prisoner. 
Nasamu,  though  always  armed  with  a  mace,  or  heavy 
iron  club,  with  which  he  had  executed  more  than  two 
hundred  men,  was  rather  a  pleasant  man,  and  decidedly 
polite  and  easy  in  his  manners. 

Many  people  came  to  look  at  me,  and  I  often  improved 
such  opportunities  by  preaching.  Nasamu  and  his  wife, 
and  one  of  his  men,  named  Mama,  paid  so  much  atten- 
tion that  they  were  evidently  impressed.  I  fancied  that 
Nasamu  was  rather  uneasy  as  to  the  result  of  my  visit, 
and  I  overheard  some  of  the  king's  wives  saying, 
"  May  God  give  the  king  patience  that  he  may  let  the 
white  man  out."  One  day,  when  no  one  was  in  the 
piazza,  except  Nasuma's  wife  and  myself,  she  informed 
me  that  the  king  and  nobles,  and  chief  alufas  (doctors 
and  scribes,)  were  holding  councils  every  night,  with 
their  Korans  spread  out  before  them,  to  determine  what 
they  should  do  with  the  white  man.  I  made  no  inquiries 
as  to  what  any  of  them  had  proposed,  but  it  required 
several  sleepless  hours  at  night  to  bring  myself  into  a 
state  of  mind  which  could  agree  to  submit  quietly  to 
indignity  or  violence. 

One  forenoon  Nasamu  announced  that  the  king  was 
riding  by,  and  wanted  to  see  me  in  the  street.  He  was 
attended  by  several  armed  men,  some  of  whom  were  on 
horseback.  Nasamu  and  those  with  him,  prostrated 
themselves  before  the  king,  and  directed  me  to  do  the 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


193 


same.  I  raised  my  hat  and  bowed  three  times,  and  they 
let  it  pass. 

A  day  or  two  after  this,  the  king  sent  for  me,  to  at- 
tend a  public  audience.  He  was  seated  behind  a  screen 
or  curtain,  with  two  or  three  hundred  nobles,  alufas  and 
principal  men  in  front,  on  his  left  hand.  They  were  sit- 
ting on  the  bare  pavement,  with  their  shoes  off,  but 
their  heads  were  covered  with  caps  and  turbans.  I 
was  directed  to  sit  directly  in  front  of  the  king  at  a 
distance  of  about  thirty  feet.  Several  interpreters  and 
attendants  took  their  seats  between  me  and  the  king,  a 
little  to  his  right.  He  began  the  conference  with  many 
and  oft-repeated  salutations  in  the  Yoruba  language,  and 
then  proceeded  to  interrogate  me  in  the  Hausa  language, 
which  the  interpreters  translated.  The  object  of  this 
may  have  been  to  give  all,  both  Hausas  and  Yorubas,  an 
opportunity  of  hearing  all  that  was  said.  He  asked  my 
name  and  age,  the  name  of  my  mother,  whether  I  were 
an  Englishman,  the  name  of  our  king,  whether  I  were 
a  Mussulman,  (Mahometan)  and  what  was  my  object  in 
coming  to  Ilorrin.  I  answered  each  question  as  it  was 
propounded,  and  they  gave  me  ample  time  to  express 
myself  fully.  When  I  replied,  "  God  is  our  king,"  I  felt 
as  no  man  can  feel  who  acknowledges  an  earthly  mon- 
arch. King  Suta  appeared  to  be  impressed  by  the  de- 
claration, for  he  answered,  "  God  is  enough."  When  I 
said  that  I  was  not  a  Mahometan,  they  inquired  whether 
I  knew  Mahomet  ?  I  told  them  yes,  I  had  two  Korans. 
H  Do  you  serve  Moses  ?  "  they  continued.  "  No  ;  Moses 
wrote  the  truth,  but  he  was  my  fellow-servant,  not  my 
master.    We  deny  allegiance  to  all  creatures,  even  to 


194 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


angels."  Glances  and  smiles  of  approbation  told  that 
this  speech  had  produced  the  intended  effect.  At  last, 
when  they  demanded  my  object  in  coming  to  Ilorrin,  I 
was  just  in  a  frame  of  mind  to  speak  freely  of  salvation 
through  Christ.  They  listened  attentively,  and  offered 
no  objections.  When  I  had  finished,  the  king  told  me 
'to  return  with  Nasamu,  and  we  left  them  to  discuss  my 
proposition  to  come  and  live  in  Ilorrin. 

I  was  informed  that  the  king  and  most  of  the  nobles 
were  much  pleased  with  our  interview.  On  the  following 
day  I  went  out  to  the  river  Assa,  which  flows  not  far 
from  the  southern  wall,  and  found  it  to  be  about  forty 
yards  in  width.  It  is  not  navigable  to  the  Niger,  owing 
to  a  ledge  of  gneiss  rocks,  some  distance  below  Ilorrin. 

A  few  days  after  my  first  audience,  the  king  sent  for 
me  to  have  a  private  interview,  and  requested  me  to 
bring  the  dinjila,  or  New  Testament.  This  time  he  raised 
the  curtain,  and  had  me  to  sit  near  to  him.  Only  one 
man  was  present.  The  king  examined  the  Bible  which 
I  had  brought,  and  requested  me  to  read  to  him.  I  read 
and  translated  Luke's  account  of  the  conception.  We 
then  had  the  following  conversation  : 

"  Why  do  you  wish  to  live  in  Ilorrin  l" 

"  To  preach  the  Gospel." 

"  What  do  you  say  when  you  preach  V9 

I  gave  him  a  brief,  distinct  outline  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

"  We  are  Mahometans  here." 

"  I  know  you  are  Mahometans,  and  that  is  the  reason 
I  want  to  live  among  you,  and  teach  you  the  whole  word 
of  God." 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


195 


"  I  am  very  much  afraid  that  your  religion  will  spoil 
ours." 

"  God  commands  all  men,  high  and  low,  to  repent  and 
believe  the  Gospel." 

"  If  any  man  should  believe  here  in  Ilorrin,  what  would 
he  do?" 

"  If  any  one  should  believe,  I  would  baptize  him  in  the 
river  Assa,  and  thenceforth,  if  he  were  really  a  believer, 
he  would  lead  a  new  and  holy  life." 

Hereupon  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  ground  for  some 
time,  as  if  in  deep  meditation,  and  muttered  to  himself 
in  Hausa  (which  he  supposed  I  would  not  understand), 
"  There  are  Mussulmen,  there  are  heathens,  there  are 
Christians."  (Nasara.)  But  he  evaded  an  answer  to  the 
question,  whether  I  should  be  permitted  to  live  in  Ilor- 
rin. To  me  it  seemed  morally  impossible  that  a  strenu- 
ous and  bigoted  Mahometan  people  would  permit  me 
to  live  among  them  avowedly  to  convert  them  to 
Christianity. 

Nasamu  now  informed  me  that  the  king  was  greatly 
pleased  with  me — that  he  called  me  a  very  wise  man- 
that  he  would  give  me  a  horse  now,  and  a  house  in  Fada 
when  I  should  return.  Fada  is  the  aristocratic  quarter 
round  about  the  king. 

My  reply  to  him  was,  "  Nasamu,  you  know  I  told 
the  king  that  I  did  not  want  money,  or  horses,  or 
slaves,  or  ivory — only  to  preach  the  Gospel.  When  I 
come,  I  shall  want  to  live  in  some  retired  place,  that  I 
may  preach  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich.  I  can 
not  live  in  Fada.  You  must  let  me  be  a  poor  man  in 
Ilorrin."  I  said  this  with  great  earnestness  ;  because  I 
felt  it,  and  because  I  was  determined,  at  all  hazards, 


196 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


not  to  involve  myself  in  any  political  relation  or  favorit- 
ism. There  is  nothing  which  I  regard  with  more  su- 
preme contempt  than  the  desire  of  the  Catholics  and 
some  others,  to  court  the  favor  of  princes.  This  method 
of  conducting  missions  has  never  converted  a  nation  to 
Christ,  and  never  will. 

There  were  several  Moors  and  Arabs  at  Ilorrin,  and 
some  of  the  latter  were  as  fair  skinned  as  myself  ;  in  fact 
I  suspected  one  as  being,  as  his  countenance  indicated, 
neither  more  nor  less  than  an  American,  but  I  afterwards 
supposed  myself  to  be  mistaken.  One  of  the  Moors, 
who  professed  to  have  been  at  Kasandria  and  Stamboul 
(Alexandria  and  Constantinople),  treated  me  with  great 
friendship,  and  appeared  to  be  much  interested  in  my 
case.  On  one  occasion,  he 'said  to  all  present,  pointing 
to  me,  "  These  people  are  the  masters  of  the  world."  He 
told  me  that  he  had  seen  the  ships  of  my  country  in  the 
Mediterranean.  While  I  was  shut  up  in  Nasamu's  house, 
he  came  to  see  me  almost  daily,  and  sometimes  sent  his 
wife  and  little  daughters.  One  of  the  girls,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  about  twelve  years  of  age,  was  a  bright- 
eyed  brunette,  of  surpassing  beauty,  and  modest  to 
excess.  My  friend  had  great  doubts  whether  the  people 
of  Ilorrin  would  receive  me,  but,  said  he,  u  If  they  reject 
you  here,  you  can  go  to  Iseh,  six  days'  journey  to  the 
east,  which  is  nearly  as  large  a  town  as  this,  and  more 
civilized.  They  will  receive  you."  When  called  before 
the  king,  this  Moor  and  the  Yankee  Arab  were  both 
present.  The  latter  appeared  to  be  in  great  favor,  as 
he  was  sitting  on  the  king's  right  hand,  behind  the  cur- 
tain. He  was  said  to  be  a  sherif,  or  lineal  descendant 
of  the  prophet. 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


197 


I  took  occasion  to  ask  Nasamu  and  others  whether 
they  knew  anything  of  a  town  called  Iseh,  and  they  in- 
formed me  that  it  was  a  very  large  town  on  the  river 
Kanpe,  six  days  eastward  from  Ilorrin.  Somewhere  in 
that  region  the  people  dig  copper  from  the  ground.  Six 
days'  journey  beyond  the  Kanpe,  is  the  largest  town  in 
Africa,  which  bears  the  name  of  Aw-waw.  Ilorrin, 
Ilesha,  Ibadan  and  Abbeokuta  are  towns  of  the  second 
class  compared  with  Aw-waw;  and  Ijaye,  Ogbomoshaw, 
Offa,  Sokoto  and  Kano  of  the  third  class. 

Lander  mentions  the  civil  wars  in  Nufe,  which  he  calls 
Nylfe.  It  appears  that  the  rupture  has  never  been 
healed.  Three  or  four  years  ago  one  of  the  rival  kings, 
called  Dasaba  the  Cruel,  attempted  to  form  a  confedera- 
tion for  the  destruction  of  Horrin.  .  In  the  meantime  he 
was  growing  more  and  more  obnoxious  to  his  own  sub- 
jects, and,  at  last,  in  the  year  1852,  the  citizens  of  his 
capital,  Hade,  on  the  Niger,  revolted,  and  drove  him 
from  the  throne.  Hade  was  burned  in  the  conflict,  but 
he  was  not  able  to  suppress  the  insurrection.  The 
emperor  at  Sokoto,  finding  that  Dasaba's  power  was 
fairly  broken,  ordered  him  to  repair  to  Ilorrin,  and  reside 
there  as  a  private  citizen.  One  morning,  king  Suta  sent 
me  word  that  Dasaba  had  arrived,  and  that  I  must  come 
and  see  him  do  homage.  We  found  an  immense  crowd 
assembled  in  and  around  the  court,  and  a  strong  body 
of  horsemen  drawn  up  in  the  public  square.  The  king 
motioned  for  me  to  approach,  and  caused  me  to  sit 
about  six  feet  in  front  of  him,  on  his  left  hand.  Pres- 
ently Dasaba  and  his  retinue  made  their  appearance.  I 
have  never  seen  a  handsomer  man,  or  one  so  superbly 
majestic  in  his  bearing.    He  advanced  with  a  slow  and 


198 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


firm  step,  and  prostrated  himself  at  Suta's  feet,  with  an 
air  that  said  more  plainly  than  words  could  express,  "  I 
am  not  conquered."  It  required  no  prophet  to  foretell 
that  he  will  stir  up  another  war,  if  possible. 

llorrin  once  belonged  to  the  Yoruba  kingdom.  About 
fifty  years  ago,  the  Imalle  or  Yoruba  Mahometans  con- 
spired with  the  Hausas  and  Pulohs  to  subdue  the  heath- 
en and  erect  a  Mahometan  nation.  For  some  years 
they  were  uniformly  successful,  owing  to  the  Puloh  and 
Hausa  cavalry.  Aw-yaw,*  the  capital  of  Yoruba,  and 
many  other  cities  were  destroyed  ;  and  the  Pulohs 
boasted  that  they  would  not  cease  till  they  had  subdued 
all  the  country  to  the  sea.  While  this  was  going  on, 
so  many  refugees,  outlaws  and  desperadoes,  assembled 
at  Ibadan,  on  the  borders  ©f  the  forest  country,  that  it 
grew  from  a  small  town  to  a  large  city,  which  felt  itself 
able  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  Pulohs.  A  bloody 
battle  between  the  armies  of  Ibadan  and  llorrin  resulted 
in  the  signal  defeat  of  the  latter,  and  put  an  end  to  their 
conquests.  Since  that  time  they  have  been  content  to 
maintain  their  independence.  A  Puloh  man,  named  Ab- 
salom,f  who  was  a  relative  of  Bello  of  Sokoto,  and  of 
Dendo  of  Raba,  became  their  king,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  present  king  Suta,  whom  the  Yorubas  call  Sheeta. 

The  people  of  llorrin  are  a  mixture  of  Yorubas, 
Pulohs  or  Fellatahs,  Hausas  or  Gambarees,  Kanikes  or 
Bornuese,  and  Nufes  or  Tapas.  Most  of  the  people  of 
all  tribes  speak  the  Yoruba  language.    Nasamu,  him. 


*  This  town  was  known  to  us  as  Eyeo,  or  Katanga.    Tho  Hio 
country  of  old  authors,  is  Yoruba. 
f  Such  names  as  David,  Mary,  &c,  are  common  in  Sudan. 


VISIT  TO  ILOKRIN, 


199 


self  a  Kanike,  informed  me  that  Burnu,  (which  means 
Noah's  ark  or  ship)*  is  not  the  name  of  a  country,  but 
of  a  single  town  in  the  Kanike  kingdom.  He  affirms 
that  the  Kanikes  are  descended  from  the  people  of  Bar- 
ba,  (Lander's  Borgoo,)  on  the  west  of  the  Niger.  The 
Hausas  or  Gambaree  tribe,  are  probably  the  mixed  de- 
scendants of  the  Kambri  or  Cumbrie  people,  who  live 
along  the  Niger  above  Busa.  The  Nufes  are  allied  by 
their  language  to  the  Yorubas,  but  they  are  more  civil- 
ized, and  have  superior  skill  in  the  arts.  They  are  said 
to  be  the  only  people  in  Sudan  who  still  retain  the  art 
of  manufacturing  glass.  At  present  this  art  is  confined 
to  three  towns,  one  of  which  is  west  of  the  Niger,  about 
two  days'  journey  from  llorrin.-  From  anecdotes  which 
I  heard  of  king  Moses,  and  of  Mallam  Shaiki,  "the 
Lion  King,"  I  infer  that  the  people  of  Yakobu  or  Jacobu, 
east  of  Nufe,  are  far  from  being  barbarians. 

But  the  Pulohs,  (called  also  Fulahs,  Fellahs,  Fella- 
tahs  and  Fullanies,)  who  are  the  rulers  at  Ilorrin,  are 
by  far  the  most  interesting  people  in  Central  Africa. 
According  to  their  own  account,  their  ancestors  were 
white,  and  they  still  call  themselves  white  men.  I  have 
already  expressed  a  conjecture  that  they  may  be  the 
Psylli  or  Psulloi  of  ancient  history.  Jato,  my  Puloh 
teacher  at  Abbeokuta,  informed  me  that  the  original 
country  of  his  people  was  Pelli,  which  lay  in  some  un- 
known region  of  the  coast.  Some  of  the  tribe  relate  a 
tradition  that  their  people  once  lived  about  Massina 
near  Timbuctu,  whence  they  dispersed  by  four  emigra- 


*  This  town  is  said  to  have  been  built  on  the  spot  where  the  Burnu, 
or  ship  of  Noah,  landed  after  the  flood. 


200 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


tions  to  the  Senegal,  to  the  Susa  country,  which  they 
subdued  and  called  Futa,*  to  Barba  and  other  countries 
west  of  the  Niger,  and  to  Hausa,  where  they  have 
founded  a  great  empire  which  extends  to  Ilorrin.  Their 
language  is  not  African;  it  is  not  Shemitic.  In  Africa 
they  are  called  red  people.  Some  of  them  are  black, 
others  mulatto  colored,  and  others  almost  white.  The 
women  plait  the  hair  on  each  side  and  tie  it  under  the 
chin.  They  have  the  same  cast  of  countenance  as  white 
women,  and  some  of  them  are  decidedly  handsome,  like 
the  mulatto  Creoles  in  New  Orleans.  I  noticed  one  who 
would  have  passed  for  a  sharp-nosed  woman  in  any 
country.  Some  of  the  old  men  have  projecting  noses 
and  chins,  and  reminded  me  of  old  Scotsmen.  Some- 
where in  the  east,  but  how  far  I  could  not  ascertain, 
there  is  a  tribe  of  red  men  called  Alabawaw  or  hide 
wearers,  who  are  said  to  speak  the  Puloh  language, 
though  they  do  not  appear  to  be  politically  connected 
with  the  Pulohs  of  Sokoto  or  Kano.  They  live  in  vil- 
lages, and  like  other  Pulohs  have  many  cattle.  Their 
religion  is  Mahometanism.  There  are  other  tribes  of 
red  men  who  are  heathens,  but  their  language  is  not 
Puloh.  The  Azbens,  who  live  on  the  southern  borders 
of  the  desert,  were  declared  to  be  entirely  white  like 
myself.  This  was  the  only  white  tribe  known  to  the 
people  of  Hausa  and  Kanike. 

None  of  my  negro  and  Puloh  friends  had  been  very 
great  travelers,  excepting  now  and  then  a  man  or  a 
woman  who  had  been  a  slave  in  Fezzaw7n,  as  they  called 


*  This  name  has  long  ago  been  referred  to  Phut,  the  grandson  of 
Noah,  from  whom  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  Fulahs  are  descended. 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


201 


it,  or  Kasandria.  Nasamu  and  others  with  whom  I  con- 
versed the  most  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  any 
country  beyond  Yakobu,  Mandara,  Kanike,  and  the  De- 
sert. But  the  Moors  and  Arabs,  who  had  been  every 
where,  had  told  them  wonderful  stories  of  still  other 
countries  and  tribes  far  off  in  the  east.  Somewhere  on 
the  other  side  of  Yakobu  is  a  tribe  of  people  called 
Alakere,  none  of  whom  are  more  than  three  feet  in 
height.  The  chiefs  are  a  little  taller  than  the  common 
people.  The  Alakere  are  very  ingenious  people,  espe- 
cially in  working  iron,  and  they  are  so  industrious  that 
their  towns  are  surrounded  by  iron  walls.  Beyond  these 
are  a  tribe  called  Alabiru,  who  have  inflexible  tails 
about  six  inches  in  length.  As  the  stiffness  of  their 
tails  prevents  the  Alabiru  from  sitting  flat  on  the  ground, 
every  man  carries  a  sharp  pointed  stick,  with  which  he 
drills  a  hole  in  the  earth  to  receive  his  tail  while  sitting. 
They  are  industrious  manufacturers  of  iron  bars,  which 
they  sell  to  surrounding  tribes.  All  the  fine  swords  in 
Sudan  are  made  of  this  iron.  The  next  tribe  in  order 
are  the  Alabiwo,  who  have  a  small  goat-like  horn  pro- 
jecting from  the  middle  of  their  forehead.  For  all  that, 
they  are  a  nice  kind  of  black  people  and  quite  intelli- 
gent. A  woman  of  this  tribe  is  now  in  slavery  at  Offa, 
near  Ilorrin.  She  always  wears  a  handkerchief  around 
her  head  because  she  is  ashamed  of  her  horn.  There 
are  other  people  in  this  "Doko"  region  who  have  four 
eyes,  and  others  who  live  entirely  in  subterranean  gal- 
leries. These  wonders  were  affirmed  by  natives  and 
Arabs.  If  the  "  German  surgeon  in  the  French  service 
in  Africa,"  had  heard  all  this,  he  would  doubtless  have 
reported  that  he  had  found  men  at  Ilorrin  with  two  ex- 
9* 


202 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


tra  vertebrae  instead  of  one.  But  the  most  singular  lusus 
naturce-  of  which  I  have  yet  heard  was  the  "French 
savan,"  who  fell  amoug  the  Arabs  and  heard  such  vivid 
descriptions  of  tailed  men,  that  he  went  home  and  re- 
ported that  he  had  actually  seen  one.  No  savan  as  yet, 
I  believe,  has  published  a  scientific  description  of  the 
roc's  egg.  After  all,  if  there  are  white  men  in  France 
with  long  ears  like  asses,  why  should  there  not  be  ne- 
groes in  Africa  with  short  tails  like  baboons  ? 

On  the  day  that  I  left  Ilorrin,  the  king  sent  for  me  to 
visit  him  at  his  private  house.  Dangarri  now  informed 
me  that  I  should  have  land  to  build  on,  "  your  own 
house,  your  servant's  house,  and  the  house  of  GodP  With 
this  assurance,  I  was  dismissed  to  go  home  and  make 
preparation  for  removing  to  Ilorrin  after  the  close  of 
the  rains,  or  in  about  six  months.  Nasarnu  and  several 
others  accompanied  me  to  the  gate,  and  I  bade  farewell 
to  Ilorrin  surprised  and  pleased,  yet  doubting  as  to  the 
final  result. 

On  leaving  Ijaye  in  the  fall  of  1855,  as  previously 
stated,  I  left  my  wife  at  Ogbomoshaw  and  went  to  Ilor- 
rin on  a  second  visit.  I  soon  discovered  that  some- 
thing was  wrong.  Nasamu  had  various  complaints  to 
make  against  other  white  men  who  had  been  there  since 
my  visit;  that  they  had  come  with  a  large  retinue  of 
servants;  that  they  were  stern  and  unsocial,  etc.,  and  I 
received  intimations  that  the  balogun,  who  was  absent 
at  the  time  of  my  visit,  was  hardly  willing  for  white 
men  to  live  in  Ilorrin.  Some  of  my  old  friends  were  not 
quite  so  cordial  as  before,  but  others,  including  one 
respectable  Puloh  man,  declared  themselves  the  friends 
of  the  Gospel.    When  called  before  the  king,  they  re- 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


203 


quested  me  to  repeat  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  to 
which  they  listened  in  silence.  The  king  then  informed 
me  that  I  might  live  in  Ilorrin,  provided  I  would  not 
preach,  to  which  I  replied  it  was  impossible.  "But," 
said  I,  "let  me  come  and  preach  to  the  heathen." 
"  What  if  some  of  the  Mussulmen  should  believe?"  he 
inquired.  I  replied  that  no  man  can  govern  the  heart 
of  another.  "It  won't  do,"  said  he;  and  here  the  con- 
ference ended.  Every  body  appeared  solemn,  not  to  say 
affected. 

A  few  days  after,  when  about  to  leave,  the  king  sent 
for  me  again.  After  salutation  and  a  little  conversa- 
tion, he  asked  me  to  preach.  As  I  began  to  speak  I 
heard  a  noise  of  footsteps,  and  the  court,  before  empty, 
was  soon  filled  by  two  or  three  hundred  people  who  en- 
tered, I  do  not  know  where  or  how.  When  they  were 
seated  I  proceeded  to  preach  with  all  my  power.  On 
my  telling  the  king  that  my  desire  to  live  there  was  for 
his  salvation  and  the  salvation  of  his  people,  some  young 
men  in  the  outskirts  of  the  congregation  began  to  laugh, 
but  hearing  no  response  they  were  soon  silent.  The 
whole  assembly  was  deeply  serious.  As  the  discourse 
proceeded  one  man  leaned  further  and  further  forward 
till  his  head  almost  touched  the  ground.  No  one  spoke 
till  I  had  finished.  The  king  then  said,  "  We  do  not  re- 
ject God,  but  we  are  Mussulmen."  He  told  me  further, 
to  go  and  build  a  house  in  Ogbomoshaw  and  come  oc- 
casionally to  see  him.  We  parted  in  friendship  and 
evidently  with  mutual  sorrow.  I  was  not  much  disap- 
pointed, for  I  had  always  feared  that  the  Mahometans 
would  not  receive  us  as  missionaries.  If  such  a  course 
had  been  possible,  I  would  have  entered  the  town  quiet- 


204 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ly,  and  have  tried  to  preach  without  attracting  public 
attention.  But  my  color  and  the  customs  of  the  coun- 
try compelled  me  to  appear  before  the  king,  and  he  as 
a  Mahometan  prince  could  not  do  otherwise  than  reject 
my  proposition  to  convert  his  people.  Perhaps  if  we 
had  gone  as  traders  we  might  have  got  a  foothold  in 
the  city. 

On  my  return  to  Ogbomoshaw,  the  chief  gave  me  a 
beautiful  building  site  near  the  northern  wall,  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  gate  to  the  Ilorrin  road.  By 
the  end  of  three  months  I  had  completed  a  comfortable 
cottage  of  three  rooms,  a  servants'  house,  kitchen,  etc. 
and  surrounded  the  whole  with  a  wall  five  feet  high,  in- 
closing a  space  about  forty  yards  square. 

At  Ogbomoshaw,  as  elsewhere,  the  Gospel  immedi- 
ately began  to  make  a  good  impression.  Many  listened 
with  attention  and  interest  ;  a  few  professed  to  have 
abandoned  idolatry,  though  their  sincerity  may  be 
doubtful  ;  and  one  man,  not  a  resident  of  the  place, 
openly  renounced  Mahomet.  When  about  to  leave  and 
return  home,  he  came  to  ask  me  how  he  should  pray, 
now,  since  his  change  of  opinion. 

In  February,  1855,  our  mission  was  reinforced  by  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips  from  Georgia,  and  Mr. 
Beaumont  from  Alabama.  Mr.  Phillips  remained  at 
Ijaye,  where  his  wife  soon  fell  a  victim  to  the  fever  of 
the  country.  Mr.  Beaumont  came  up  to  Ogbomoshaw. 
The  mission  has  since  been  strengthened  by  the  addi- 
tion of  Messrs.  Trimble,  Priest  and  Cason,  and  their 
wives.  Our  whole  force  now  consists  of  eight  men, 
five  of  whom  are  married.  The  first  station  is  at  Lagos, 
on  the  sea  coast,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Harden,  a  colored 


VISITS  TO  ILORRIN. 


205 


man  from  Liberia  ;  and  the  most  interior  station  is  at 
Ogbomoshaw,  which  stands  at  a  point  where  the  fauna 
and  flora  of  Guinea  begin  to  give  place  to  those  of 
Sudan.  The  distance  from  Lagos  to  Abbeokuta  by  the 
river  Ogun  is  about  ninety  miles  ;  thence  by  the  road 
to  Ijaye,  sixty  miles  ;  thence  to  Ogbomoshaw  fifty  miles  ; 
thence  to  Ilorrin  twenty-eight  miles  ;  and  thence  to  Hade 
on  the  Niger  about  fifty  miles  :  so  that  in  going  from 
Lagos  to  Ijaye  we  travel  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  to 
Ogbomoshaw  two  hundred  miles,  to  Ilorrin  two  hundred 
and  thirty  miles,  and  to  the  Niger  two  hundred  and 
eighty  miles.  By  a  direct  road  the  whole  distance 
would  be  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 


206 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  JOURNEY  FROM  YORUBA  TO  SIERRA  LEONE,  IN  185G. 

DEPARTURE  FROM  OGBOMOSHAW  —  HEATHEN  NOTIONS  OF  PROVIDENCE  —  A 
CANOE  VOYAGE  IMPROVEMENTS  AT  LAGOS  —  MONROVIA  —  SIERRA  LE- 
ONE—  BAPTIST  CHURCHES  THERE  —  MISSIONARIES  NEEDED  —  A  SCHOOL 
OF  NATIVE  BOYS — SUCCESSFUL  MISSIONS. 

In  the  spring  of  1856,  various  circumstances  required 
my  return  to  America.  When  we  left  Ogbomoshaw,  a 
crowd  of  people  followed  us  some  distance  on  the  road, 
expressing  many  wishes  for  our  safety  during  the  jour- 
ney. Our  carriers  on  this  occasion  were  everything  that 
we  could  desire.  One  evening,  in  the  wide,  uninhabited 
country  between  Ijaye  and  Abbeokuta,  we  were  over- 
taken by  a  tornado,  or  thunder-cloud  with  wind,  which 
gave  me  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  feelings  of 
the  heathen  natives  in  regard  to  the  providence  of  God. 
While  the  black  clouds  were  advancing  from  the  horizon, 
the  hammock-bearers  frequently  exclaimed,  u  May  God 
not  let  it  rain  !  n  One  said,  "  God  is  king."  Finally, 
in  a  part  of  the  prairie  which  was  rather  more  than 
usually  wooded,  it  began  to  rain,  and  the  carriers  then 
prayed,  "May  God  not  let  it  be  much  I"  A  few  minutes 
after,  a  gust  of  wind  and  rain  came  full  in  our  faces, 
and  the  people,  looking  up  at  the  bending  trees,  ex- 
claimed, "  May  God  spare  our  lives  V7  and  one  of  them 
added  Olorrun  aku,  11  Salutation  to  God,"  a  phrase  which 


JOURNEY  TO  SIERRA  LEONE. 


207 


is  incapable  of  translation  into  English,  but  which  im- 
plied profound  respect  and  submission  on  the  part  of 
the  speaker.  On  such  occasions  as  this,  when  there 
appears  to  be  danger,  the  people  forget  their  orisha 
(idols,)  and  call  on  Olorrun  (God).  The  rain  was  soon 
over.  On  reaching  the  water  we  kindled  large  fires 
and  passed  a  comfortable  night. 

The  following  night  was  spent  in  a  village  about 
twelve  miles  north  of  Abbeokuta.  A  bachelor  resigned 
his  house  to  myself  and  wife,  and  the  carriers  slept  in 
the  piazza  and  yard.  After  we  had  lain  down,  some  one 
raised  the  alarm  of  ejo!  ejo !  "a  snake  !  a  snake  I"  The 
serpent  was  killed,  and  the  people  resumed  their  pal- 
lets. Soon  after  I  heard  a  man,  lying  in  the  piazza,  appar- 
ently talking  to  himself  and  saying,  "  It  is  God  delivers 
men  !  That  snake  came  into  the  yard  and  bit  nobody  ! " 
Then  after  a  pause  of  a  minute  or  two,  he  resumed, 
"All  mankind  are  in,  pit ;  it  is  God  delivers  them."  Poor 
man !  how  ardently  and  affectionately  I  then  wished 
that  he  could  know  more  of  that  God,  of  whose  power 
and  goodness  he  appeared  to  have  so  clear  a  concep- 
tion. 

We  descended  from  Abbeokuta  to  Lagos  in  a  canoe. 
The  river  was  so  low  that  we  were  often  aground  on 
sandbars,  and  it  took  us  four  days  to  make  the  journey, 
but  the  novelty  of  the  scenery  compensated  in  some 
measure  for  the  tediousness  of  the  voyage.  We  arrived 
at  the  lake  just  after  dark,  and  the  wind  was  so  high 
that  we  were  obliged  to  lie  in  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
amid  swarms  of  musketoes.  One  of  our  canoe  men,  a 
new  hand,  was  alarmed  at  the  roaring  of  the  wind  and 
waves,  and  declared  that  he  could  not  proceed  to  Lagos, 


208 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


or  if  he  did  he  would  never  go  out  into  the  roads  to 
look  at  the  large  ships.  "  If  Ossa  is  doing  this/7  he  ex- 
claimed, "  what  is  the  ocean  itself  doing  V 

The  mangrove  swamp  around  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
was  now  covered  with  tide-water.  As  a  troop  of  mon- 
keys were  leaping  from  tree  to  tree,  probably  on  their 
way  to  a  convenient  sleeping  place,  one  of  them  leaped 
upon  a  dead  branch,  which  came  down  with  a  plash  into 
the  water.  Hereupon  the  whole  troop  of  monkeys  set 
up  a  vociferous  screeching  and  grunting,  as  if  fully 
aware  of  the  uncomfortable  condition  of  their  com- 
panion. He  doubtless  regained  his  position,  for  after 
some  time  the  cries  of  the  monkeys  subsided  as  if  they 
wTere  satisfied. 

Toward  midnight  the  wind  subsided,  and  the  lake 
was  soon  so  calm  that  we  pursued  our  journey,  and 
arrived  at  Lagos  before  day-break.  This  was  about  the 
first  of  May.  I  had  not  been  here  before  since  Octo- 
ber, 1853,  to  see  the  improvements  which  had  taken 
place  in  the  town.  The  merchants,  missionaries  and 
wealthier  natives  had  erected  about  a  hundred  houses 
(as  I  was  told)  in  European  style,  a  number  of  which 
were  good  buildings  which  cost  several  thousand  dol- 
lars. About  a  dozen  vessels  were  lying  in  the  roads, 
and  I  was  informed  that  if  steam  lighters  were  sent 
out  to  ship  the  palm  oil,  they  could  receive  one  dollar 
per  hogshead  for  two  hundred  hogsheads  a  day.  Still, 
the  traffic  of  this  place  is  only  in  its  infancy.  If  roads 
were  opened  to  Ibadan,  Ijaye  and  other  places,  the 
quantity  of  oil  might  be  greatly  increased  from  these 
quarters. 

For  the  last  four  years,  Western  Africa  has  enjoyed 


JOURNEY  TO  SIERRA  LEONE. 


209 


the  advantages  of  a  monthly  mail  steamer  from  England. 
During  this  period  there  has  been  a  great  increase  of 
traffic  and  of  passengers.  The  steamer  in  which  we 
took  passage  from  Lagos  to  Sierra  Leone  was  uncom- 
fortably crowded.  I  was  pleased  to  see  that  several 
American  houses  have  been  established  on  this  part  of 
the  coast  since  1850,  when  not  one  existed. 

During  the  few  hours  which  the  steamer  stopped  at 
Monrovia,  I  went  ashore  and  looked  over  the  town.  The 
place  is  evidently  growing  in  prosperity.  But  nothing 
pleased  me  so  much  as  the  renewed  and  special  efforts 
which  our  missionaries  are  making  for  the  conversion 
of  the  natives.  Such  efforts  are  not  only  the  sacred  duty 
of  those  who  must  give  an  account  for  souls,  but  one  of 
their  highest  interests,  as  citizens  of  a  nation  which  is 
destined  to  derive  much  of  its  population  and  strength 
from  the  civilization  of  African  tribes. 

When  we  arrived  at  Freetown  several  boatmen  board- 
ed the  ship  to  convey  passengers  to  the  shore,  one  of 
whom  approached  us  and  said,  "  Plenty  America  man 
live  ashore." 

"  How  do  you  know  we  are  Americans  ?"  we  inquired. 
"  By  de  tongue/7  he  replied. 

We  stopped  at  a  hotel  kept  by  an  emigrant  from  Vir- 
ginia, who  appeared  to  me  as  white  as  any  woman, 
though  she  claimed  to  be  a  free  negro.  She  has  been 
in  Freetown  many  years,  and  besides  making  a  good 
living,  has  uniformly  maintained  a  high  reputation  for 
every  kind  of  probity. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  fact,  that  some  of  our 
American  negroes  were  colonized  in  Sierra  Leone  about 
sixty  years  ago.    A  few  of  these  colonists  were  Bap- 


210 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


tists.  They  formed  themselves*  into  a  church,  and  'al- 
though neglected  by  their  brethren,  while  Pedo-Baptists 
were  spending  large  sums  in  missions  to  the  colony, 
they  have  still  maintained  their  existence.  In  1853, 
brethren  Dennard,  Lacy,  and  myself  ordained  two  min- 
isters, Brown  and  Thompson,  at  the  request  of  these 
brethren.  They  were  then  divided  into  two  churches  in 
consequence  of  a  schism.  Sometime  after  this,  Mr. 
Thompson  removed  to  Waterloo,  and  received  an  ap- 
pointment as  a  missionary  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Board. 
Mr.  Brown  remained  at  Freetown,  and  the  Board  grant- 
ed one  hundred  dollars  toward  his  support.  One  part 
of  my  design  in  stopping  for  a  while  in  Sierra  Leone, 
was  to  form  a  better,,  acquaintance  with  these  Baptists, 
and  if  possible  to  extend  their  influence  to  the  Yoruba 
residents.  I  found  that  the  schism  had  been  healed,  and 
that  the  religious  prospects  of  the  church  were  improv- 
ing. Still  there  was  great  need  of  more  efficient  aid. 
Mr.  Brown  is  a  very  worthy  man,  who  ought  to  be  more 
adequately  supported,  as  he  has  suffered  a  physical  in- 
jury which  disqualifies  him  from  laboring  at  his  trade 
as  a  blacksmith.  Few  of  the  natives,  except  the  so- 
called  Eboe  tribe,  attend  the  Baptist  meetings.  Of 
this  tribe  there  are  several  members,  some  of  whom 
might  be  useful,  if  missionaries  were  sent  to  their  coun- 
try on  the  lower  Niger. 

So  soon  as  the  Yoruba  and  Egba  people  discovered 
that  I  had  come  from  their  country,  they  gathered  around 
me  like  bees.  Every  one  had  something  to  say  and 
something  to  ask,  if  it  were  only  for  the  sake  of  hear- 
ing me  speak  in  their  native  tongue.  I  felt  a  great  de- 
sire to  remain  and  preach  to  them  for  several  reasons. 


JOURNEY  TO  SIERRA  LEONE. 


211 


1.  Because  comparatively  few  among  them  can  under- 
stand English  sufficiently  to  learn  the  Gospel  well  from 
English  teachers  ;  2.  Because  many  of  them  are  still 
heathens  ;  3.  Because  many  of  the  professed  Christians 
are  unconverted — some  of  the  worst  and  basest  men  at 
Lagos  have  been  in  the  church  at  Freetown  ;  4.  Because 
my  having  been  in  Yoruba,  would  give  me  peculiar  in- 
fluence over  the  Yoruba  people  in  Sierra  Leone  ;  5.  Be- 
cause we  need  converted  and  educated  natives  in  our 
Yoruba  missions  ;  and  6.  Because  there  are  many  na- 
tives of  other  tribes  in  Sierra  Leone,  who  never  go  into 
the  chapels  to  hear  the  Gospel.  Freetown  itself  is  a 
great  and  important  missionary  field,  especially  to  those 
who  preach  the  Gospel  as  preached  by  the  Baptists,  and 
in  that  manner  which  we  believe  to  be  proper.  I  am 
not  aware  of  the  light  in  which  this  remark  may  be  re- 
garded by  some  readers ;  nevertheless,  Sierra  Leone 
does  need  the  doctrine  and  the  practical  common-sense 
preaching  and  management  which  Baptists  can  give 
them,  and  which  none  are  better  qualified  to  give  than 
the  Baptists  of  our  own  country. 

Freetown  is  a  great  resort  of  Fulahs,  (Pulohs,)  and 
Mandingoes,  two  fine  intelligent  races,  who  adhere  to 
the  Koran,  and  seldom  hear  a  word  of  the  Gospel.  They 
Ought  to  receive  the  special  attention  of  a  special  mis- 
sionary— not  of  a  gentleman  in  gown  and  slippers,  but 
of  a  discreet,  open-faced,  open-hearted  man,  who  will 
go  into  their  resorts,  and  introduce  and  reiterate  religi- 
ous conversation,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  can  neither 
get  angry,  nor  fail  to  learn  the  truth.  To  suppose  that 
they  will  learn  English  and  attend  the  chapels,  is  to  ex- 
pect more  than  they  have  done,  or  can  do.    Even  those 


212 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


of  them  who  speak  English,  are  deterred  by  many  re- 
ligious and  social  motives  from  attending  the  chapels. 
And  yet  on  almost  every  part  of  the  coast,  they  must 
learn  English,  and  go  to  chapel,  or  die  in  their  sins. 
Will  any  one  at  Bathurst,  or  in  Sierra  Leone,  or  in  Li- 
beria, deny  the  general  truth  of  this  statement  ? 

In  one  of  my  rambles  beyond  the  borders  of  Freetown, 
I  entered  a  native  school,  where  about  two  hundred  boys, 
lately  rescued  from  slavery  in  the  interior,  were  learn- 
ing to  read  and  speak  English.  They  were  of  all  ag^, 
from  about  five  to  ten  or  twelve,  and  in  every  sort  of 
imaginable  garb.  Some  were  smartly  clad  in  shirts  and 
trowsers  ;  others  had  nothing  but  shirts  ;  others  nothing 
but  trowsers,  and  others  nothing  at  all.  A  merrier  set 
of  noisy  little  fellows  was  never  seen.  After  a  few 
years,  they  will  be  put  to  trades  and  service  of  various 
kinds,  so  that  every  one  of  them  will  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  becoming  a  useful  and  prosperous  citizen  of  a 
civilized  colony.  In  this  way,  Sierra  Leone  has  added 
greatly  to  her  strength,  thus  setting  an  example  which 
Liberia  should  be  zealous  to  follow. 

I  regard  Sierra  Leone  as  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs 
of  modern  benevolence.  The  missions  there  were  com- 
menced in  1804.  For  a  long  time  they  were  unfruitful ; 
for  the  negroes  of  Guinea,  in  their  present  state,  and 
surrounded  by  present  social  and  idolatrous  influences, 
are  not  very  susceptible  of  Christian  instruction.  After 
a  while,  the  British  cruisers  began  to  send  in  cargoes 
of  re-captured  slaves,  who  were  different  from  any 
natives  heretofore  seen  in  Sierra  Leone.  They  were 
the  citizens  of  Yoruba,  Nufe,  Hausa,  Kanike,  and  other 
nations  of  Sudan,  who  had  been  captured  in  war,  and 


JOURNEY  TO  SIERRA  LEONE. 


213 


sent  down  to  the  coast  to  be  exchanged  with  the  slavers 
for  tobacco,  guns  and  powder,  and  other  articles  of  civ- 
ilized commerce.  The  nude  and  half-nude  captives  were 
taken  in  charge  by  the  missionaries,  and  placed  under 
instruction,  according  to  their  age  and  condition.  The 
children  improved  rapidly  in  school,  and  the  adults  soon 
gave  promise  of  becoming  useful  colonists.  From  time 
to  time,  their  number  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of 
fresh  cargoes.  Large  numbers  of  them  joined  the 
churches  of  the  Episcopal  and  Wesleyan  missionaries. 
Some  became  acceptable  preachers,  and  valuable  school- 
masters. Some  became  creditable  scholars  in  the 
various  branches  of  education.  Others  prospered  in 
business,  and  became  comparatively  wealthy  merchants, 
the  owners  of  ships  and  extensive  warehouses.  The 
richest  native  in  Freetown,  a  Jalof,  is  said  to  be  worth 
about  £100,000,  or  $500,000.  Several  of  the  Nufes, 
Yorubas,  and  Eboes,  became  wealthy.  The  natives  of 
Sierra  Leone,  at  present,  are  a  respectable,  civilized, 
and  Christian  community.  There  are  twenty-three 
chapels  in  Freetown  alone,  several  of  which  are  hand- 
some and  commodious  stone  buildings,  with  basements 
for  lecture  rooms,  school  rooms,  etc.  The  people  now 
pay  for  the  instruction  of  their  children  in  the  day- 
schools.  The  religious  contributions  of  the  Episcopal 
congregations  for  last  year,  amounted  to  $3,262.  The 
contributions  of  the  Wesleyans  were  probably  not  in- 
ferior. This,  we  must  admit,  is  astonishing  liberality 
for  a  few  thousand  converted  Africans. 

The  Sierra  Leone  missionaries  with  whom  I  became 
acquainted,  appeared  to  be  men  of  excellent  character. 
Judging  from  the  work  which  they  have  done,  their 


214 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


predecessors  must  have  been  men  of  the  same  stamp. 
None  but  discreet  and  laborious  men  could  have  pro- 
duced the  results*  which  are  witnessed  in  Sierra  Leone. 
But  the  present  missionary  work  of  the  colony  labors 
under  one  great  defect — a  scarcity  of  men.  The  duties 
of  the  missionaries  are  too  onerous.    Some  of  them,  as 


*  The  last  Report  of  the  Sierra  Leone  Missions  were  as  follows : 
EPISCOPALIANS— ( English.) 

1  Bishop. 

12  Ordained  European  Missionaries. 

3  Native  Missionaries,  (others  ordained  since.) 

1  European  Industrial  Agent. 

3  European  Female  Teachers. 

8  Native  Christian  Visitors. 
56  Native  Teachers. 

7  Native  School  Mistresses. 

3  Seminaries. 
59  Schools. 

5181  Scholars. 

15  Stations. 
3354  Communicants. 

WESLEYANS. 

4  Circuits. 
31  Chapels. 

3  Other  Preaching  Places. 
7  Missionaries. 

5  Catechists. 

133  Local  Preachers. 
63  School  Teachers. 
24  Schools. 
2897  Scholars. 
6461  Communicants. 
361  On  Probation. 


JOURNEY  TO  SIERRA  LEONE. 


215 


I  know,  and  I  suppose  all  of  them,  labor  beyond  their 
strength  ;  and  yet  their  charge  is  so  large  and  unwieldy, 
that  the  people  can  not  receive  that  enlarged  degree  and 
kind  of  instruction  which  their  advanced  condition  de- 
mands. The  chief  duty  now  in  Sierra  Leone,  is  not  to 
evangelize  the  congregations,  but  to  train  evangelists 
for  the  extension  of  the  Gospel — to  give  a  higher  Chris- 
tian tone  to  converts — to  extend  their  influence  to  the 
surrounding  heathens,  and  to  send  well-instructed  Chris- 
tian Yorubas,  Nufes,  etc.,  as  missionaries  to  their  native 
countries.  This  can  not  be  done  effectually  without 
more  laborers,  and  some  change  of  plan.  In  a  word, 
the  time  has  come  in  Sierra  Leone  to  separate  the  pas- 
toral from  the  strictly  missionary  work. 

The  people  of  Sierra  Leone  consist  of  re-captured 
slaves  from  almost  every  part  of  Africa  ;  and  if  mission- 
aries were  going  to  any  point  of  the  west,  east,  south, 
or  interior  of  the  continent,  there  would  be  an  a  priori 
probability  that  they  could  obtain  interpreters,  if  not 
Christian  schoolmasters  and  other  assistants,  at  Free- 
town. But  this  opportunity  will  not  continue  long.  Of 
late  there  are  few  arrivals  of  re-captured  slaves,  and 
the  children  who  are  brought  up  in  the  colony  will  not 
be  so  well  qualified  for  interpreters  in  every  part  of 
the  continent,  as  are  their  fathers.  Now  is  the  time  to 
invade  Alrica  with  swarms  of  missionaries. 

It  is  vain  to  regret  now  that  a  few  wrong  headed 
young  preachers  blighted  the  English  Baptist  Mission, 
once  planted  in  Sierra  Leone.  If  the  men  first  selected 
as  missionaries,  had  been  prudent  and  persevering,  the 
Baptists  also  might  look  to  Sierra  Leone  for  native  as- 
sistants to  every  part  of  Africa ;  but  now  there  are 


216 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


scarcely  any  native  Christians  in  the  Baptist  Church, 
except  a  few  Eboes*  As  the  opportunity  has  not  yet 
passed  away,  and  will  not  entirely  cease  for  the  next 
twenty  years,  we  ought  yet  to  improve  it.  A  well-con- 
ducted Baptist  mission  in  Sierra  Leone,  would  add  a 
new  element  of  vigor  and  spirituality  to  the  missions 
already  existing,  and  might  provide  our  missionaries 
to  other  parts  of  the  continent  with  valuable  native  as- 
sistants. Liberia  is  an  important  field,  but  can  not 
promise  the  same  secondary  advantages  which  may  be 
realized  in  Sierra  Leone. 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 


217 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 

BOUNDARIES  —  TOFULATION  —  TOWNS  —  SURFACE  —  MOUNTAINS  —  PRAI- 
RIES —  SOIL  —  STREAMS  —  SWAMP3  —  SPRINGS  —  WATER. 

The  boundaries  of  Yoruba  are  not  accurately  known. 
The  southern  limit  lies  between  Ijaye  and  Abbeokuta, 
about  eighty  miles  by  the  road  from  the  sea.  On  the 
north  it  is  bounded  by  Nufe  (called  also  Nupe,  Nyffe 
and  Tapa)  which  extends  to  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty 
miles  this  side  of  the  Niger.  On  the  east  of  Yoruba 
we  hear  of  Effong  (Kakanda)  Tgbona,  Ijesha  and  Ifeh. 
On  the  east  are  Barba  (Borgu)  Mahee  and  Dahomy. 
The  country  between  Yoruba  and  the  sea  is  occupied 
by  the  tribes  of  Iketu,  Egba,  Egbado,  Otta  and  Ijebu. 
All  of  these  tribes,  as  also  the  people  of  Ifeh,  Ijesha, 
Igbona  and  Effong  are  branches  of  the  Yoruba  family, 
and  speak  varieties  of  the  same  language. 

An  English  writer  supposes  that  the  people  who  speak 
Yoruba  amount  to  three  millions.  This  estimate  is  not 
too  high,  if  we  include  the  surrounding  tribes  of  the 
same  family.  We  have  been  informed  that  the  Yoruba 
language  is  much  spoken  in  Nufe,  along  the  Niger,  and 
in  Barba,  north  of  Mahee.  Scarcely  any  other  tongue  is 
spoken  at  Badagry  and  Lagos  and  other  places  on  the 
coast  between  Whydah  and  the  Delta.  Re-captured 
Yorubas  are  numerous  in  Sierra  Leone,  and  arc  found 
10 


218 


C EXTRA L  AFRICA. 


at  Fernando  Po,  on  the  Gambia,  and  in  other  places  along 
the  coast.  Many  native  Yorubas  are  in  slavery  in  Brazil 
and  Cuba.  I  have  seen  a  Yoruba  woman,  the  wife  of  a 
Bedouin,  who  affirmed  that  she  had  been  to  Stamboul  or 
Constantinople.  According  to  her  and  others,  there  are 
Yoruba  slaves  in  Tripoli,  and  Fezzan,  and  all  over  Cen- 
tral Africa 

The  eastern  parts  of  Yoruba,  and  the  countries  of 
Ifeh,  Ijesha,  Igbona  and  Effong,  have  not  been  visited 
by  the  missionaries.  We  are  assured  however  that 
there  are  many  large  towns  in  that  region. 

The  population  of  the  large  towns  with  which  we  are 
best  acquainted  may  be  stated  in  thousands  as  follows  ; 
Lagos,  (Eko,)  20,000  ;  Ajasheh,  15,000  ;  Abbeokuta,  60,- 
000  ;  Iketu,  15,000  ;  Ishabbeh,  20,000  ;  Iganna,  20,000  ; 
Ishakki,  25,000  ;  Igboho,  20,000  ;  Ikishi,  25,000  ;  Ilorrin, 
70,000  ;*  Offa,  80,000  ;  Ejigbo,  20,000  ;  Iwo,  20,000  ;  Ideh, 
20,000  ;  Ibadan,  70,000  ;  Ijaye,  35,000 ;  Awyaw,  the  capital 
of  Yoruba,  25,000  ;  Ogbomoshaw,  25,000  ;  Isehin,  20,000. 

Besides  these,  there  are  numerous  smaller  towns,  con- 
taining from  1,000  to  10,000  people.  The  average  popu- 
lation of  the  whole  country  is  probably  not  less  than 
ten  persons  to  the  square  mile.  I  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  it  is  twenty.  Fifty  years  ago  it  must  have 
been  much  greater,  and  it  is  now  again  on  the  increase. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  generally  undulating,  in 
long  and  gradual  swells.  From  the  flat  sea  coast,  where 
there  are  neither  hills  nor  stones,  the  country  rises  grad- 


*  This  town  may  contain  100,000  people ;  we  have  never  said  500,- 
000,  but  in  comparing  it  to  New  York,  we  alluded  simply  [as  we  said] 
to  its  extent. 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 


219 


ually,  yet  rapidly,  to  the  watershed  between  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea  and  the  Niger.  As  well  as  I  could  ascertain 
by  the  barometer,  Abbeokuta  is  561  feet  above  the  sea, 
Ijaye  997  feet,  and  Ogbomoshaw  1305  feet.  Fifteen 
miles  beyond  the  last  place  the  streams  flow  to  the  Ni- 
ger. The  most  elevated  land  in  Yoruba  is  about  the 
head  of  the  Ogun  river.  The  mountains  there  probably 
rise  to  a  height  of  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  which  is  at  least  one  thousand  feet  more  than 
the  highest  hills  about  Ogbomoshaw. 

There  is  no  continuous  chain  of  mountains  in  Yoru 
ba.  In  passing  from  the  sea  to  the  Niger,  we  may  pur- 
sue routes  which  will  frequently  bring  us  in  contact 
with  rugged  masses  of  hills,  but  other  routes  are  so 
leveb  that  a  railroad  might  be  constructed  without  a 
single  deep  cut.  If  a  traveler  should  pass  through  the 
country  along  one  of  these  level  routes,  he  would  see 
nothing  more  than  some  occasional  solitary  mountain  or 
little  cluster  of  mountains  rising  abruptly  from  the  level 
plains.  But  if  he  should  climb  to  the  top  of  one  of  these, 
he  would  see  scores  of  others  rising  at  various  distances 
all  around  him.  Hence  those  who  have  passed  along 
roads  which  lead  them  over  the  hills  have  concluded 
that  Yoruba  is  a  mountainous  country,  which  is  the 
reverse  of  what  is  true. 

The  first  mountainous  hills  we  meet  as  we  go  from 
the  coast  to  Awyaw  are  the  huge  piles  of  granite  in  and 
around  Abbeokuta.  Going  westward  sixty  miles  to 
Iketu,  I  saw  no  hills  and  no  granite  except  near  to  Ab- 
beokuta. Thirty  miles  north-east  from  Abbeokuta  brings 
us  to  the  rocky  mountains  at  Eruwa  and  Bi-olorrun- 
pellu.     This  mass  of  hills,  which  is  some  twenty  or 


220 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


thirty  miles  in  circuit,  is  surrounded  by  level  land.  These 
mountains,  which  rise  several  hundred  feet  above  the 
plain,  are  partly  wooded  and  partly  composed  of  naked 
granite,  the  immense  masses  of  which  are  piled  together 
in  all  sorts  of  fantastic  forms.  The  scenery  here  is  in- 
describably beautiful.  About  twenty  miles  to  the  north 
of  this  are  a  dozen  or  two  hills  of  naked  granite,  the 
largest  of  which,  Mt.  Ado,  is  about  three  miles  in 
length  and  several  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  plain. 
The  southern  end  is  a  perpendicular  cliff.  It  is  inhabit- 
ed by  rockdoves,  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  their 
eyes,  but  though  I  could  distinctly  hear  their  hoarse 
cooing,  they  were  too  high  up  the  rock  to  be  visible. 
Twelve  miles  further  I  encountered  the  rude  and  rocky 
hills  of  Oke-Efo,  which  it  took  me  two  hours  to  ascend. 
Not  far  from  the  road  is  a  little  village  perched  like  an 
eagle's  nest  among  the  highest  cliffs. 

One  of  the  highest  mountains  in  the  country,  is  at  Ig- 
betti,  between  Igboho  and  Ilorrin.  Mr.  Clark  has 
visited  this  place,  and  found  the  town  of  Igbetti  on  the 
mountain.  The  people  of  Ogbomoshaw  have  told  me 
that  the  harmattan  wind,  which  they  call  awyeh,  is  a  huge 
man,  who  resides  in  Igbetti  hill.  During  the  dry  season 
he  flies  out  over  the  country  and  makes  cold  weather. 
The  harmattan  is  a  cold  north  wind  which  comes  from 
the  direction  of  Fezzan,  the  highest  part  of  the  Great 
Desert.  In  Hausa  it  produces  frost  and  even  ice,*  but 
in  Yoruba  I  have  not  seen  it  sink  the  mercury  lower 
than  60.° 

The  road  from  Abbeokuta  to  Ilorrin  is  level,  but  we 


*  So  say  the  natives,  and  Clapperton  affirms  the  same. 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 


221 


pass  by  the  foot  of  several  mountains.  Those  on  the 
Obba  river  beyond  Ijaye  rise  to  the  height  of  one  thou- 
sand feet  or  more  above  the  plain.  A  few  miles  beyond 
this  a  long'  ridge  is  divided  to  the  base  by  a  perfect 
valley,  a  mile  in  width,  so  that  no  obstruction  is  offered 
to  the  road.  In  fact  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
opening  roads  through  every  part  of  Yoruba. 

Liberia,  and  other  large  districts  in  Western  Africa, 
are  covered  with  heavy  forests  with  an  exceedingly 
dense  undergrowth  of  shrubs  and  climbing  plants, 
which  is  called  the  bush,  both  by  Europeans  and  the 
natives.  But  these  forests  are  an  exception  to  the 
general  character  of  the  African  continent.  Southern, 
Eastern,  and  Central  Africa  are  open  grassy  countries 
with  a  scarcity  of  timber.  When  I  was  at  Sama,  four 
days'  journey  from  Monrovia,  the  natives  told  me  it 
was  five  days  more  to  the  Boonda  country,  where  the 
ground  is  covered  with  grass  instead  of  bushes.  I 
suppose  that  the  open  country  is  not  more  than  one 
hundred  miles  on  a  direct  line  from  any  part  of  Liberia. 
From  Badagry  and  Lagos  the  forest-country  extends  to 
the  interior  about  forty  miles  and  is  interspersed  by 
numerous  little  prairies.  All  the  country  about  Badagry 
is  prairie.  Badagry  mount,  as  it  is  called,  is  only  a 
clump  of  trees  on  the  open  plain.  Almost  the  whole  of 
Yoruba  is  a  prairie,  scattered  over  with  small  spreading 
trees.  There  are  some  forests,  however,  especially  on 
the  rivers,  some  of  which  are  several  miles  in  extent. 
One  of  the  largest  lies  between  Ijaye  and  the  Obba. 

Careful  observation  has  fully  convinced  me  that  the 
African  prairies  are  simply  the  result  of  long  continued 
cultivation,  followed  by  annual  burnings  of  the  tall 


222 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


grass.  Our  own  western  prairies  are  probably  the 
farms  of  the  hypothetical  mound-builders.  If  England 
were  now  abandoned  to  a  sparse  population  of  hunters, 
it  might  remain  a  true  prairie  country  for  indefinite 
ages.  Some  prairies,  however,  like  deserts,  have  re- 
sulted from  the  drying  up  of  seas.  But  there  are  none 
such  in  Yoruba.  Here,  as  in  America,  if  there  should 
be  no  more  burning  of  the  grass,  the  prairies  gradually 
return  to  the  state  of  primeval  forests.  Some  qualities 
of  soil  however  in  both  countries  would  regain  their 
timber  much  sooner  than  others. 

The  soil  of  Yoruba  is  various;  sometimes  decidedly 
fertile,  especially  in  the  ancient  forests;  often  quite 
poor,  perhaps  from  exhaustion;  but  generally  of  me- 
dium quality.  In  most  places  it  has  a  good  propor- 
tion of  quartose  rocks  and  sand.  It  is  mostly  of  a  gray 
color,  in  which  it  differs  from  that  of  Golah,  etc.,  which 
stains  the  water  of  the  St.  Paul's  river  yellow;  and 
from  that  of  Eastern  Africa,  which  imparts  a  red  color  to 
the  full  Nile. 

The  streams  of  Yoruba  are  generally  clear,  except 
when  swollen,  but  in  some  places  receive  a  milky  white 
color  from  the  potter's  clay  which  abounds  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Small  streams  flowing  over  rocky  or 
sandy  beds  are  numerous,  but  there  are  no  large  rivers. 
The  Ogun  above  Abbeokuta  is  about  one  hundred  yards 
wide,  but  too  rocky  for  navigation  even  by  canoes.  Be- 
low the  town  it  is  rather  wider,  and  is  navigable  for 
canoes  except  in  the  latter  part  of  the  dry  season.  The 
Ossun,  according  to  the  natives,  is  about  as  large  as 
the  Ogun,  and  less  encumbered  with  rocks.  The  river 
Ossa  flows  parallel  to  the  coast  from  the  westward  to 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 


223 


Lagos,  whore  it  spreads  out  into  a  wide  lagoon  thirty 
or  forty  miles  in  circuit.  This  lake  as  also  the  lagoon 
or  river  which  comes  into  Lagos  from  the  east,  is  called 
Ossa.  The  Assa  at  Ilorrin  is  forty  yards  in  width,  but 
navigation  is  prevented  by  rocks.  In  short,  there  is  no 
inland  navigation  in  Yoruba.  No  part  of  the  kingdom 
however,  is  much  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  the 
sea  on  one  side,  or  the  Niger  on  the  other.  By  refer- 
ence to  the  map  it  will  be  seen  that  Yoruba  is  a  sort  of 
peninsula,  or  in  the  oriental  style  of  the  interior,  an 
island.  Its  position  in  regard  to  the  sea  and  the  Niger, 
its  healthiness,  and  the  facility  with  which  roads  may 
be  constructed,  all  conspire  to  make  it  one  of  the  most 
important  portions  of  the  African  continent.  If  colon- 
ized by  civilized  blacks  from  America  and  properly  con- 
ducted, it  would  soon  command  the  trade  of  all  Central 
Africa,  to  which  it  is  the  natural  key. 

The  proper  Yoruba  kingdom  is  perfectly  free  from 
swamps.  Even  in  the  low  country  along  the  coast, 
there  is  little  swamp  except  in  a  few  places  near  the 
sea.  Universally  in  the  interior  the  soil  is  dry  and 
rocky,  and  the  streams  are  not  subject  to  great  freshets 
as  in  America.  The  reason  is  that  the  rains  are  more 
uniform  and  gradual. 

The  only  lake  is  the  Ossa,  already  mentioned.  There 
is  scarcely  a  pond  of  an  acre  in  extent  in  Yoruba.  I 
have  never  heard  of  lakes  in  the  interior  except  the 
Tsad  or  Tsaddi  (Chad)  and  other  smaller  ones  near  it. 
Congo  people  have  told  me  of  a  large  sea  in  the  inte- 
rior of  their  country.  On  further  inquiry  I  became  con- 
vinced that  they  were  speaking  of  the  Indian  ocean, 
where  white  men  come  in  ships  to  sell  cloth  and  buy 


224 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ivory.  The  eastern  Africans  also  speak  of  a  great  in- 
land sea  navigated  by  large  ships,  and  they  have  affirm- 
ed that  the  people  who  lived  there  built  castles  of  stone. 
Their  sea  is  the  Atlantic  and  the  castles  are  the  Por- 
tuguese settlements.  To  convince  me  that  there  is  a 
sea  and  civilized  people  in  the  centre  of  Africa,  would 
require  better  evidence  than  the  vague  reports  of  ten 
thousand  ignorant  and  often  mendacious  natives.  The 
temptation  to  lie  in  all  such  cases  is  your  own  love  of 
the  marvelous,  which  the  people  are  not  slow  to  perceive. 
If  however  there  is  a  sea  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  we 
may  feel  confident  that  Prestyr  John*  is  king  of  all  the 
surrounding  country.  Lake  Ngami,  I  may  observe,  is 
only  about  thirty  miles  long  by  six  or  eight  wide. 

Most  of  the  streams  in  Yoruba  cease  to  flow  during  the 
dry  season.  Even  the  Ogun  has  been  known  to  stand 
in  pools.  I  have  seldom  found  a  good  perennial  spring. 
In  most  parts  of  the  country  there  is  a  stratum  of  tena- 
cious potter's  clay  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  which  arrests  the  rain  water  and  causes  it  to 
ooze  in  the  valleys  without  forming  springs.  The  wells 
are  usually  shallow.  Sometimes  they  are  mere  pits  into 
which  the  people  descend  and  dip  water.  When  a  well 
is  private  property,  which  is  often  the  case,  the  owner 
draws  and  sells  to  the  women  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three 
cowries  for  a  large  pot  full  ;  about  one  cent  for  fifty  gal- 
lons. When  they  draw  at  public  wells,  every  woman 
brings  her  own  bucket,  which  is  simply  half  of  a  hirge 


*  Prestyr  John  was  a  Tartar  prince  who  was  reported  to  have  em- 
braced Christianity.  A  hundred  years  or  two  after  his  death— if  ne 
ever  lived — the  Portuguese  were  thrown  into  "intense  excitement" 
by  their  expectation  of  finding  his  glorious  kingdom  in  Central  Africa. 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  YORUBA. 


calabash  or  gourd  tied  to  a  string.  In  the  centre  of 
Ogbomoshaw  there  is  a  fine  spring  issuing  from  a  mass 
of  gneiss.  The  owner  of  the  spring  has  cut  a  circular 
basin  in  the  rock,  from  which  a  woman  dips  and  sells  to 
thousands  of  customers.  In  the  evening,  which  is  "the 
time  that  damsels  go  out  to  draw,"  this  spring  is  worthy 
of  a  visit. 

The  water  in  Africa  is  generally  good,  but  always 
warm.  When  the  thermometer  stood  at  85°  in  the  shade, 
it  sank  to  15°  in  a  cold  spring  at  the  foot  of  mountains 
1500  feet  high.  By  exposing  our  drinking  water  to  the 
wind  in  porous  earthen  jars,  it  becomes  a  little  cooler. 
10* 


226 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

SEASONS  AND  CLIMATE. 

RAINY  SEASON  —  DRY  SEASON  —  SPRING  —  TEMPERATURE  —  WINDS  —  THE 
HARMATTAN — CLOUDS  —  MORNINGS  AND  EVENINGS  —  THE  BEST  TIME 
TO  TRAVEL  —  DISEASES  OF  THE  NATIVES  —  DISEASES  OF  WHITE  VISITORS 
—  FEVER  —  DYSENTERY  —  DEBILITY  —  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE  —  HEAT  — 
DAMPNESS — MALARIA  —  HOW  TO  PRESERVE  HEALTH  —  TAKING  COLD  — 
CLOTHING — HOUSES  —  BATHING  —  DAMP  BEDS  —  LAWS  OF  MALARIA  — 
DIET  —  MEDICINES. 

There  are  two  seasons,  the  dry,  corresponding  with 
our  winter,  and  the  wet,  extending  through  the  greater 
part  of  our  spring,  summer  and  autumn.  The  first  rains 
begin  gently  in  March.  June,  or  occasionally  May,  is 
the  wettest  month  in  the  year.  From  the  middle  of 
July  to  the  latter  part  of  September,  we  have  a  fine  cool 
season,  with  a  few  showers.  The  latter  rains  are  in 
October  and  November.  The  heaviest  showers  do  not 
occur  when  the  sun  is  vertical,  but  after  he  has  passed 
over  and  is  retiring  either  to  the  north  or  south.  When 
he  is  approaching  us  from  the  northern  tropic,  there  is 
little  rain,  and  there  is  none,  or  nearly  none,  as  he 
ascends  from  the  tropic  of  Capricorn. 

The  quantity  of  rain  that  falls  in  Yoruba  is  compara- 
tively small.  Four  inches  at  a  time  is  considered  a 
remarkable  shower,  and  more  than  twenty  inches  in  the 
wettest  month  is  bad  weather.  The  torrents  of  which 
we  read  in  other  tropical  countries  are  not  poured  from 


SEASONS  AND  CLIMATE. 


227 


the  skies  of  Yoruba.  The  thunder  is  about  as  severe 
as  in  the  Southern  United  States,  but  from  some  cause, 
I  have  never  seen  a  tree  that  had  been  struck  by  light- 
ning. Houses  are  set  on  fire  every  .year,  but  this  may 
be  chiefly  the  work  of  the  "  thunder  worshippers,"  to 
whom  such  houses  are  lawful  plunder.  In  one  case, 
however,  the  lightning  killed  a  woman  in  the  streets. 

The  dry  season  begins  in  the  latter  part  of  November. 
By  the  middle  of  January,  many  trees,  especially  in  the 
up  country,  cast  their  leaves,  as  if  in  sympathy  with 
their  brethren  of  the  chilly  north  ;  by  which  means  they 
enjoy  that  season  of  repose  which  is  said  to  be  necessary 
to  the  perfection  of  timber.  This  season  is  the  hottest 
time  of  the  year,  except  when  the  harmattan  blows  from 
the  north,  which  sinks  the  mercury  to  about  65°,  and 
occasionally  lower.  The  heat  would  be  still  greater, 
were  it  not  for  "  the  smokes,"  caused  by  the  burning  of 
the  prairies,  which  obscure  the  sun.  There  is  also  a  per- 
petual breeze  from  the  south-west,  as  at  other  seasons. 
The  arrival  of  the  harmattan  usually  produces  a  little 
rain,  so  that  we  have  three  or  four  light  showers  every 
dry  season. 

The  approaching  rainy  season  is  preceded  in  February 
by  a  degree  of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere,  the  effects 
of  which  are  soon  visible  on  vegetation.  The  tender 
grass  springs  up  from  the  dry  earth,  and  many  trees  are 
loaded  with  gay  flowers,  which  are  soon  followed  by 
new  green  leaves.  The  season  of  spring  is  distinctly 
marked,  and  very  beautiful  even  here  in  the  torrid  zone. 
It  is  seen  to  the  best  advantage  among  the  mountains. 
The  dark  green  foliage  of  the  evergreens,  mingled  with 
the  bright  young  leaves  of  spring,  and  interspersed 


228 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


every  where  with  large  and  small  trees  covered  with 
various  colored  flowers,  the  whole  disposed  in  endless 
variety  over  valleys,  and  gentle  slopes,  and  steep  hill 
sides,  with  masses  and  spires  and  piles  of  rock  rising 
among  the  trees,  present  a  picture  of  inexpressible 
beauty.  But  even  here  the  undefinable  somberness  of 
Africa  hangs  over  the  scene.  There  is  something  want- 
ing, something  saddening.  I  suspect,  however,  that 
half  the  shadows  which  seem  to  rest  on  African  scen- 
ery are  cast  over  by  our  own  feelings.  We  are  far 
away  from  the  land  and  the  people  we  love,  cut  off 
from  civilization  and  sympathy,  exiles  in  a  remote  bar- 
barous country,  where  we  must  die  and  be  buried,  and 
these  circumstances  impart  a  hue  to  our  feelings,  which 
can  scarcely  fail  to  be  reflected  on  everything  around  us. 
If  the  mountain  scenery,  and  the  wide  green  undulating 
prairies  of  Yoruba,  were  our  own  native  land,  inhabited 
by  our  own  people,  they  would  seem  as  bright  a£  the 
brightest  scenes  of  earth. 

The  heat  of  this  country  is  not  excessive.  The  aver- 
age in  the  dry  season  is  about  80°  at  Ijaye,  and  82°  at 
Ogbomoshaw,  and  a  few  degrees  lower  during  the 
rains.  I  have  never  known  the  mercury  to  rise  higher 
than  93°  in  the  shade,  at  Ijaye.  The  highest  reading  at 
Ogbomoshaw,  was  97.5°.  Still  the  weather  appears 
very  hot,  especially  in  the  sun.  The  very  beasts  and 
birds,  and  insects  are  lazy.  Frequently,  I  have  wan- 
dered over  the  farms  of  an  afternoon,  for  exercise  and 
recreation,  taking  my  gun  to  shoot  birds,  but  they 
were  all  asleep  in  the  shady  groves,  and  I  have  return- 
ed without  so  much  as  a  dove,  after  walking  several 
miles.    I  once  watched  a  pair  of  hawks  building  a  nest 


SEASONS  AND  CLIMATE. 


229 


in  their  usual  season,  which  is  the  hot  month  of  Decem- 
ber They  might  generally  be  seen  perched  contentedly 
on  the  boughs  of  their  tree,  and  it  was  only  at  intervals 
that  they  brought  a  branch  or  a  twig  to  deposit  on  their 
nest.  It  took  them  a  month  to  finish  the  work  of  a  few 
days.  At  another  time  I  observed  a  wasp  building  his 
nest  on  the  ceiling  of  my  room.  Most  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  idleness,  and  the  nest  was  no  larger  than  the 
end  of  my  thumb  at  the  end  of  five  weeks.  Even  the 
ants,  industrious  as  they  are,  work  only  in  the  cool  of 
the  day.  Though  a  million  may  sometimes  be  found  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  are  all  gone  to  their 
cool  underground  galleries  long  before  noon.  The  peo- 
ple are  equally  cautious  of  heat,  generally  spending 
their  noons  under  the  shade  of  trees,  or  dozing  in  their 
cool  piazzas.  Europeans  should  take  plenty  of  exercise 
in  the  cool  of  the  day,  but  the  tin-African  energy  with 
which,  they  do  everything,  is  not  favorable  to  their 
health  in  this  land  of  stagnation. 

The  winds  in  Yoruba,  besides  the  little  whirlwinds, 
which  occasionally  move  leisurely  over  the  plains,  are 
of  three  kinds: 

1.  Night  and  clay,  at  all  seasons,  a  damp  and  cool 
south-west  wind  comes  in  from  the  Atlantic.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  fully  as  strong  at  Ilorrin  as  in  the  low  coun- 
try, though  not  so  damp.*  There  are  no  gales  or  hurri- 
canes in  this  country. 

2.  The  African  tornado  is  merely  an  ordinary  thundex*- 
gust,  which  seldom  has  power  to  blow  down  a  tree,  or 


*  Since  writing  this,  I  have  found  the  winds  in  the  interior  quite 
variable  in  the  dry  season. 


230 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


unroof  a  thatched  house.  This  wind  usually  comes  from 
the  north-east,  and  the  cloud,  in  which  it  occurs,  moves 
directly  to  meet  the  south-west  breeze.  When  the  two 
contrary  winds  meet,  there  is  a  short  calm,  which  is  fol- 
lowed by  wind  and  rain  from  the  thunder  cloud. 

The  harmattan,  called  awyeh  by  the  natives,  is  a  cold 
and  very  dry  north  or  north-east  wind,  which  blows  for 
a  few  hours  at  a  time,  at  intervals  of  three  or  four 
weeks  in  the  dry  season.  It  feels  decidedly  cool  in 
Yoruba,  and  on  one  occasion  caused  the  mercury  to  sink 
to  60°.  Once  on  the  mountains,  I  saw  both  men  and 
dogs  shivering  under  its  effects,  but  I  had  left  my  ther- 
mometer behind.  Its  dryness  causes  excessive  evapor- 
ation. The  average  of  the  hygrometer  in  the  dry  season 
is  about  G°  at  ijaye,  and  10°  at  Ogbomoshaw  ;  but  I 
have  seen  the  harmattan  separate  the  mercury  in  the 
two  tubes  to  25°  in  a  few  hours.  Everything  -is  affected 
by  this  unusual  dryness.  Our  skins  feel  husky,  and  the 
books  gape,  as  if  for  thirst.  Once  my  table  made  such 
a  loud  outcry  against  this  loss  of  moisture,  that  I  drew 
off  the  cloth,  expecting  to  find  it  split.  We  accuse  the 
harmattan  of  doing  us  no  good.  It  only  chills  and  dries 
us  for  a  few  hours,  and  then  resigns  us  with  wrinkled 
skins  and  worsted  feelings  to  the  heat  and  moisture  of 
the  climate. 

The  upper  regions  of  the  air  appear  to  be  little  dis- 
turbed by  winds.  The  scirrus,  which  at  home  is  gene- 
rally seen  hurrying  away  to  the  south-east,  lies  here  in 
Africa  as  motionless  as  the  moon.  The  lower  clouds 
are  frequently  no  more  than  a  few  hundred  feet  in  height, 
and  move  before  the  south-west  breeze.  We  seldom 
have  two  cloudy  days  in  succession. 


SEASONS  AND  CLIMATE, 


231 


The  mornings  in  Yoruba  are  damp  and  chilly,  owing 
to  excessive  dews.  Fogs  are  not  common.  By  ten 
o'clock  the  heat  is  oppressive,  and  continues  so  till 
about  four.  The  dew  begins  to  fall  before  sunset,  and 
soon  after  dark  the  damp  air  is  often  disagreeably  cool. 
In  fair  weather  the  nights  are  very  beautiful,  the  moon 
and  stars  shining  with  surprising  splendor.  Sometimes 
a  meteor  glides  across  the  sky,  but  they  are  not  so  com- 
mon here  as  in  higher  latitudes.  Once,  when  sleeping 
by  the  wall  of  Abberrekodo,  because  they  refused  to  re- 
ceive a  white  man  into  the  town,  I  was  aroused  a  little 
after  midnight  by  thunder  and  wind.  A  great  cloud  lay 
in  the  east  glowing  like  fire,  with  the  bright  lightnings 
playing  on  its  edges.  There  was  a  loud  roaring  in  the 
cloud,  which  could  not  be  attributed  to  the  wind,  but 
there  was  no  rain.  Sometimes  after  sunset,  bright 
streams  of  light  ascend  from  the  west,  like  the  tails  of 
comets,  and  the  surrounding  clouds  and  skies  are  tinged 
with  the  brightest  colors.  I  have  seen  nothing  like 
mirage  in  Africa,  though  it  is  common  enough  in 
Western  Texas. 

We  are  never  prevented  from  traveling  by  rain. 
Some  of  my  longest  journeys  have  been  performed  in  the 
wettest  months  of  the  year.  The  best  time,  however,  is 
in  August  and  September,  when  the  air  is  cool,  and 
there  is  little  rain.  The  dry  season  is  too  hot,  and  we 
are  frequently  troubled  to  find  good  water.  In  some 
places,  water  is  sold  by  women,  who  sit  by  the  road  side 
for  this  purpose.  It  is  immaterial  at  what  time  the  mis- 
sionaries arrive  at  Lagos.  They  can  come  to  the  inte- 
rior without  danger  at  any  time.  Even  in  June  there  is 
seldom  rain  during  the  whole  day,  and  after  a  few  days' 


232 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


rain,  there  are  commonly  a  few  days  of  fine  weather. 
These  are  the  times  to  travel  in  the  rainy  season. 
Every  traveler  should  have  a  tent,  and  boots,  trousers, 
and  poncho  of  India  rubber. 

The  climate  of  Western  Africa,  especially  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  coast,  has  no  bad  effect  on  the  natives. 
Neither  men  noi  women  come  to  maturity  in  any  respect 
earlier  than  Europeans.  They  are  robust  and  healthy, 
subject  to  few  diseases,  and  frequently  live  to  a  good 
old  age.  I  state  these  facts  explicitly,  because  many 
mistakes  on  these  points  have  got  abroad,  and  have 
even  found  their  way  into  the  works  of  standard  authors. 

The  diseases  of  the  natives  are  not  malignant.  The 
country  is  visited  by  no  choleras,  plagues,  or  other  epi- 
demics. Agues  are  not  common.  Fevers  continue  from 
one  to  three  weeks,  and,  in  the  latter  case,  are  liable 
to  prove  fatal  by  wearing  the  patient  out.  I  have 
known  but  one  case  of  dysentery  to  terminate  in  death. 
The  remedies  for  fever  are  medicated  baths  and  pound- 
ed mixtures,  which  they  drink  in  ekkaw,  a  sort  of  sour 
gruel  or  mush,  which  is  a  common  article  of  food  for 
the  sick  and  the  well.  For  dysentery  they  take  roots 
and  herbs,  and  abstain  both  from  meat,  and  from  all 
hot  articles  of  food.  I  have  seen  several  cases  of  asth- 
ma, for  which  the  natives  esteem  gunpowder  an  excel- 
lent remedy,  though  I  believe  it  never  cures  them. 
Some  are  afflicted  with  chronic  liver  complaints,  which 
they  seem  unable  to  cure.  This  is  the  disease  which 
Europeans  have  called  consumption.  Sore  eyes,  fre- 
quently ending  in  blindness,  is  a  very  common  ailment. 
Numbers  have  applied  to  me  for  remedies  for  this  and 
other  lingering  diseases,  but  in  no  case  have  they  per- 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA.  233 


severed  in  the  use  of  means  for  more  than  a  few  days. 
In  treating  cases  of  gonorrhea,  chiefly  with  indigenous 
remedies,  I  have  been  more  successful.  I  have  met 
with  a  few  cases  of  epilepsy,  and  two  or  three  of  in- 
sanity. Measles  and  whooping  cough  are  surprisingly 
rare.  Small  pox  is  common,  and,  strange  to  say,  is  very 
little  regarded,  because  it  seldom  proves  fatal.  The  pa- 
tient strips  himself  bare,  and  lies  on  a  mat  till  the  dis- 
ease runs  its  course.  Though  the  whole  body  is  equally 
exposed  to  the  light,  only  the  face  is  pitted.  Whatever 
may  be  the  proper  treatment  of  small  pox  in  other 
countries,  the  best  plan  in  Yoruba  is  to  let  it  alone. 
In  Abyssinia,  where  they  try  to  cure  it,  many  die. 
Boils,  ulcers  and  various  cutaneous  diseases  are  com- 
mon in  the  sicklier  parts  of  the  low  country,  but  not  in 
the  interior.  The  African  leprosy  appears  to  be  nothing 
more  than  a  scrofulous  disease.  It  is  not  contagious. 
I  have  seen  several  cases  of  elephantiasis.  Colds  and 
rheumatic  affections  are  common,  especially  in  the  rainy 
season,  for  the  people  are  exceedingly  imprudent.  I 
have  seen  a  good  many  cases  which  appeared  to  be  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  dyspepsia.  Bad  teeth  are 
fully  as  common  as  among  the  most  civilized  of  man- 
kind. Crooked  spines  and  deformed  -limbs  are  more 
common  here  than  among  whites.  According  to  the 
natives,  the  Guinea  worm  is  found  only  where  the  peo- 
ple drink  bad  water.  Many  of  their  ailments  are  laid 
to  worms  in  the  stomach  and  intestines.  If  a  man  feels 
any  unusual  sensation  in  these  parts,  he  pronounces  it 
a  worm,  and  wants  medicine  to  kill  it.  The  above  are 
the  chief  diseases  I  have  seen  in  the  country.  On  the 
whole  the  people  are  more  healthy,  and  far  less  liable 


234 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


to  die  from  acute  and  violent  diseases,  than  we  are  in 
America. 

To  Europeans  the  climate  of  the  low  country  especial- 
ly is  very  dangerous.  Some  years  ago  it  was  said  that 
the  average  life  of  Europeans  on  this  coast  was  only 
about  two  years,  and  I  suppose  that  there  has  been  no 
improvement.  An  old  resident  declares  that  of  about 
one  hundred  white  children  born  on  the  coast,  only  one 
or  two  have  lived  to  the  age  of  ten  years,  even  of  those 
who  were  soon  taken  to  England.  Mulattoes  on  the 
coast,  born  of  debilitated  brandy-drinking  Englishmen 
and  Dutchmen,  are  generally  feeble.  I  think  we  may 
fairly  conclude  that  no  race  could  ever  be  fairly  accli- 
mated in  Guinea,  unless  they  were  endowed  with  the 
nerves  and  the  skin  of  the  negro.  Individuals,  however, 
may  be  half  acclimated,  and  live  here  in  tolerable  health 
for  many  years  ;  but  to  do  this,  they  must  spend  every 
fourth  or  fifth  year  in  a  better  climate.  This  is  the 
opinion  and  the  practice  which  observation  has  forced 
upon  European  residents. 

The  principal  diseases  to  which  white  people  are 
mostly  subject  in  this  country  are  fever  and  dysentery. 
Fever  presents  itself  in  several  forms  : 

1.  The  true  acclimation  fever  generally  occurs  within  a 
month  or  two  after  landing  ;  sometimes  within  a  few 
days.  The  sooner  the  better,  for  if  it  be  much  delayed 
it  assumes  a  new  type,  and  is  more  dangerous.  Proper 
acclimation  fever  appears  to  be  little  else  than  an  ex- 
cited state  of  the  nerves  and  arterial  system,  with  few, 
it  any,  bilious  symptoms.  In  itself  it  is  scarcely  more 
dangerous  than  an  ordinary  cold,  but  the  debility  which 
follows  may  result  in  serious  consequences.     In  my 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


235 


own  case  the  fever  was  so  light  that  I  was  not  laid  up 
till  the  fourth  day,  and  was  not  aware  in  fact  that  my 
indisposition  was  the  dreaded  African  fever.  For  the 
next  four  days,  till  the  fever  left  me,  I  was  on  foot  most 
of  the  time.  The  fever  came  on  at  its  regular  period 
without  the  least  symptom  of  chill  or  yawning,  and  re- 
mitted perfectly  in  a  few  hours.  The  excitement  of  the 
nervous  system  was  rather  pleasant  than  painful. 

2."  The  bilious  fever  is  dangerous.  This  is  the  fever  of 
natives,  of  acclimated  persons,*  and  of  those  who  escape 
the  acclimation  fever  at  the  proper  time.  In  some  cases 
the  skin  is  decidedly  yellow,  but  if  vomiting  should* 
occur,  it  differs  in  nothing  from  that  of  ordinary  fevers. 
The  acclimation  fever  scarcely  requires  treatment,  and 
patients  are  liable  to  be  injured  by  being  drugged,  but 
the  bilious  fever  may,  and  often  does,  baffle  the  utmost 
skill  of  the  most  experienced  practitioners  who  have  been 
on  the  coast.  In  no  disease  perhaps  is  a  little  bad  treat- 
ment liable  to  produce  a  greater  amount  of  injury.  It 
should  always  be  remembered  that  the  patient  is  debili- 
tated, and  has  no  strength  to  spare. 

This  fever  presents  several  irregularities.  In  one 
case  there  was  severe  vomiting  and  purging  of  blood, 
with  a  badly  intermitting  pulse,  and  great  prostration. 
After  various  remedies  had  failed,  a  mixture  of  sugar  of 
lead,  laudanum,  ipecacuanha  wine,  epsom  salts  and  pot- 
ash, arrested  the  vomiting  in  three  hours,  and  tonics 
completed  the  cure.  Depleting  measures  would  have 
killed  the  patient. 


*  Some  deny  that  the  two  fevers  are  different,  except  in  the  degree 
of  violence. 


236 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


In  other  cases  the  fever  is  clearly  congestive— &  be- 
numbing, paralyzing  chill,  with  little  or  no  reaction. 
One  of  my  colleagues,  Mr.  Dennard,  died  of  this  dread- 
ful disease  in  the  second  paroxysm.  I  have  little  doubt, 
humanly  speaking,  that  he  might  have  been  saved,  but 
the  kind  people,  among  whom  he  was,  were  ignorant  of 
this  disease.  A  gentleman  died  at  Lagos  in  the  first 
paroxysm.  In  the  published  account  of  his  death  his 
disease  was  called  "fever  and  apoplexy." 

3.  Regular  old  fashioned  agues  are  not  uncommon,  af- 
ter a  man  has  been  some  time  in  the  country.  I  believe 
the  paroxysm  usually  occurs  every  other  day,  and  the 
disease  will  terminate  on  the  eighth  day,  especially 
if  opposed  a  little  by  quinine.  Sometimes  a  little  fa- 
tigue or  exposure  will  throw  a  person  into  a  chill  follow- 
ed by  a  smart  fever,  and  the  matter  ends  there.  It  is 
not  the  beginning  of  a  spell  of  fever,  but  an  accident, 
and  the  person  passes  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

4.  A  kind  of  typhoid  fever  is  liable  to  follow  relapses. 
No  disease  in  the  country  is  so  dangerous  as  this.  Some- 
times the  very  best  remedies  are  wholly  powerless. 
The  stamina  of  the  patient  is  gone,  and  he  sinks  from 
day  to  clay  without  hope  of  recovery.  For  this  reason 
a  convalescent  patient  should  be  exceedingly  careful  to 
restrain  his  voracious  appetite,  imprudence  in  diet  being 
the  chief  cause  of  relapses. 

Dysentery  also  is  a  dangerous  disease,  though  not  so 
common  as  fever.  It  arises  from  two  causes,  cold  and 
imprudence  in  diet.  Sometimes  it  approaches  very  grad- 
n ally,  or  gives  warning  several  days  beforehand.  Then 
is  the  time  to  apply  remedies.  I  have  never  known 
mercury  and  chalk  to  fail  of  curing  it. 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA.  237 


The  bane  of  African  residents  is  debility.  This  is  not 
merely  relaxation,  arising  from  the  constant  heat  of  the 
climate,  but  a  state  of  actual  disease,  consisting  in  gen- 
eral derangement  of  the  system.  The  liver  acts  badly, 
the  digestion  is  impaired,  there  is  frequently  costive- 
ness,  weakness,  languor,  chilliness,  wandering  pains,  a 
quick  pulse,  enlargement  of  the  spleen,  nervous  irrita- 
bility, etc.  In  this  state  a  man  is  but  poorly  qualified  for 
the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  if  he  should  be  attack- 
ed with  fever  or  dysentery,  his  constitution  may  not  be 
able  to  withstand  it.  In  most  cases,  death  is  not  so 
much  the  result  of  the  violence  of  the  disease,  as  of  the 
debilitated  state  in  which  it  finds  the  patient.  This  is  the 
chief  reason  why  people  should  go  home  and  reinvigor- 
ate  their  constitutions  every  four  or  five  years. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  a  resident  in 
Yoruba,  at  least,  is  always  half  dead  with  debility.  I 
have  repeatedly  walked  three  or  four  days' journey  at  a 
time,  keeping  up  with  the  natives,  wading  streams, 
climbing  mountains,  sleeping  under  trees  without  a 
tent,  and  living  on  the  usual  food  of  the  people.  Such 
exposures  would  be  unfavorable  to  health  in  any  cli- 
mate, and  I  can  not  think  that  a  climate  where  white 
men  can  do  all  this  is  sufficiently  bad  to  excuse  them 
from  missionary  duty. 

The  causes  which  render  the  African  climate  unhealthy 
are  confessedly  obscure.  So  far  as  known  they  appear 
threefold — heat,  moisture,  and  malaria. 

1.  The  heat  of  this  climate,  as  already  stated,  is  not 
excessive  ;  but  it  is  constant,  there  being  no  cool, 
bracing  season,  to  invigorate  the  system.  It  is  said 
that  a  tropical  climate  is  unfriendly  to  the  constitution 


238 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


of  people  from  cold  countries,  in  various  ways  :  1.  It 
relaxes  the  muscles,  and  impairs  the  vigor  of  the  stomach 
and  other  organs,  which  can  not  be  deranged  without 
injuring  the  health  ;  2.  It  produces  debility,  both  by 
relaxation  and  excessive  perspiration  ;  3.  It  excites  and 
deranges  the  liver  ;  4.  The  air  which  we  receive  into  the 
lungs,  though  equal  in  volume  to  that  which  we  have 
been  accustomed,  is  less  in  absolute  quantity,  because 
it  is  rarefied  by  heat,  and  hence  contains  less  oxygen. 

2.  The  dampness  of  this  climate  arises  from  the  rains, 
the  heavy  dews,  the  moist  south-west  wind,  and  the 
dense  vegetation  which  prevents  the  sun  from  drying 
the  earth.  The  moist  night  air  produces  a  chilly  sensa- 
tion, and  causes  disease  by  deranging  the  functions  of 
the  skin.  This  degree  of  chill  is  perfectly  harmless  to 
a  strong  man  in  his  own  country,  but  it  proves  too  much 
for  a  debilitated  European,  in  the  sickly  climate  of 
Africa.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  serious  attention,  that  our 
diseases  here  generally  result  from  catching  cold,  which 
is  very  easily  done.  Dampness  also  appears  to  increase 
the  activity  of  malaria.  Hence  there  are  two  strong 
reasons  why  we  should  avoid  the  night  air,  and  keep 
our  rooms  as  dry  as  possible. 

3.  Many  of  the  causes  which  are  thought  to  produce 
malaria,  are  found  in  Western  Africa.  1.  There  are 
swamps  on  most  parts  of  the  coast,  though  it  is  true 
they  are  neither  numerous  nor  extensive  ;  2.  The  ground 
is  often  flooded  by  the  rains,  and  then  dried  by  a  hot 
sun  ;  3.  The  forests  are  always  damp,  and  the  prairies, 
covered  with  a  very  dense  coat  of  tall  grass,  are  seldom 
quite  dry.  In  both  these  cases,  heat,  and  moisture,  and 
decaying  vegetation,  conspire  to  taint  the  air.    4.  In 


UNHEA LTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


239 


most  places,  the  water  is  arrested  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  surface,  by  the  stratum  of  clay ;  and  here  we  have, 
for  four  months  in  the  year,  the  concealed  water  and  hot 
dry  surface  which  is  said  to  produce  the  most  deadly 
miasmata.  We  may  say,  then,  that  the  hot  days,  the 
damp  chilly  nights,  and  the  causes  of  malaria  every- 
where visible,  are  sufficient  to  account  for  the  unheal th- 
iness  of  Africa  to  Europeans.  The  negro  is  healthy, 
because  he  is  perfectly  accustomed  to  the  malaria,  and 
has  a  skin  adapted  to  heat  and  moisture,  and  a  pecu- 
liarity of  nerves,  to  wit,  a  diminution  of  sensibility, 
which  fortifies  him  against  all  these  causes  of  disease. 
Heat,  dampness,  and  malaria,  are  found  in  other  coun- 
tries, and  these  I  believe  are  always  sickly.  Some  are 
even  more  so  than  Guinea.  Bishop  Heber  tells  of  a 
district  in  Asia,  which  is  so  unhealthy  for  a  part  of  the 
year  as  to  be  forsaken  by  monkeys,  tigers,  and  birds. 
During  the  sickly  season,  on  certain  parts  of  the  Nile, 
cattle  must  be  removed  from  the  bottoms  to  the  high- 
lands, in  order  to  save  their  lives.  There  are  no  such 
districts  in  Western  Africa.  The  peculiarity  here,  is 
the  vast  extent  of  country  which  is  uniformly  unhealthy 
to  Europeans.  In  Central  Africa,  where  the  prairies  are 
more  scantily  covered  with  grass,  there  may  be  a  good 
climate.  The  unhealthiness  of  Guinea  appears  to  be 
unalterably  fixed  in  cosmical  causes,  the  shape  and  po- 
sition of  the  surrounding  oceans  and  continents  pro- 
ducing a  perpetual  vapory  breeze  from  the  south  west, 
and  the  geological  strata  which  favor  the  production  of 
malaria. 

The  means  of  preserving  health,  so  far  as  possible  in  this 
climate,  should  be  carefully  studied  and  constantly 


240  CENTRAL  ^FRICA. 

remembered.  They  consist  in  general  terms,  in  avoid- 
ing the  causes  of  disease. 

1.  Several  rule-s  must  be  observed  to  counteract  the 
effects  of  heat.  1.  Exposure  to  the  hot  sun  is  injurious, 
and  unless  we  are  in  active  exercise  so  as  to  produce 
free  perspiration,  it  is  liable  to  bring  on  a  dangerous 
attack  of  sickness.  Our  times  of  going  out  should  be 
the  morning  and  evening.  During  the  heat  of  the  day, 
we  should  remain  in  the  shade,  and  always  when  the 
sun  is  warm,  we  should  carry  an  umbrella.  Traveling 
stretched  on  one's  back  in  a  hammock,  must  be  very 
injurious  in  sunny  weather.  We  had  far  better  endure 
the  fatigue  of  riding  on  horse-back,  or  even  of  walking, 
than  to  be  wrapped  up  all  day  in  a  sultry  hammock 
cloth. 

2.  As  to  other  heatings  apart  from  that  of  the  sun's 
rays,  we  should  always  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  the 
state  of  being  hot,  but  the  manner  of  getting  cool  again, 
that  does  the  injury.  Every  sudden  depression  of  tem- 
perature is  dangerous,  whether  we  are  overheated  or 
not.  A  man  may  catch  cold  and  take  a  fever  or  dysen- 
tery by  sitting  in  a  draft  of  air,  between  doors  or  the 
like,  while  sitting  in  the  open  air  would  do  him  no  harm 
whatever.  When  walking,  riding  or  laboring,  we 
should  lay  off  our  coat,  and  put  it  on  again  the  moment 
wc  stop.  It  would  be  better  to  wrap  up  in  a  cloak 
when  we  stop,  than  to  keep  our  coats  off  and  suffer  too 
sudden  a  decrease  of  temperature.  So  much  caution 
may  seem  needless,  but  if  we  do  not  learn  it  from  some 
other  source,  our  own  bitter  experience  will  teach  us. 
Two  gentlemen  were  traveling  in  Africa  on  foot.  When 
they  stopped  to  rest,  one  would  throw  himself  down  in 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA  241 


the  shade  without  his  coat  to  enjoy  the  cool  breeze. 
The  other  would  button  his  coat  to  the  chin  and  saunter 
about  till  he  was  cool.  The  first  was  soon  in  the  grave, 
the  latter  was  not  greatly  affected  by  the  climate. 
However  agreeable  it  may  be  to  cool  off  in  a  refreshing 
breeze,  we  should  remember  that  in  this  case  a  man 
may  feel  most  pleasant  when  he  is  catching  his  death. 
Capt.  Clapperton  lost  his  life  in  Africa  by  lying  on  the 
ground  to  rest  and  cool. 

3.  Our  clothing  should  be  light  to  prevent  our  suffer- 
ing with  heat,  but  of  some  material  which  will  not  per- 
mit us  to  be  too  suddenly  cooled  when  heated,  or  at  any 
time  by  the  fresh  breeze.  For  myself,  thin  flannel  un- 
derclothing is  better  than  silk,  especially  in  the  rainy 
season.  When  the  son  of  Mungo  Park  arrived  at  Akra 
on  his  way  to  search  for  his  father  in  Central  Africa,  he 
adopted  the  native  costume,  which  leaves  the  body 
mostly  naked,  but  he  soon  fell  a  victim  to  the  climate. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  change  the  coat  in  the  heat  of  the 
day,  or  lay  it  off.  Of  rainy  days,  and  especially  at  night, 
we  should  not  go  out  without  a  thick  coat  or  a  cloak. 
A  man  should  never  sleep  in  his  flannels.  The  skin  is 
sufficiently  taxed  without  the  labor  of  re-absorbing  im- 
pure perspiration. 

4.  Nothing  is  more  conducive  to  health  in  Africa, 
than  frequent  bathing.  It  cools  the  body,  and  what  is 
still  more  important,  it  keeps  the  skin  in  a  clean  and 
healthy  condition.  To  enjoy  health  with  the  skin  ha- 
bitually loaded  with  filth,  may  be  set  down  as  an  im- 
possibility. On  the  other  hand,  if  the  skin  were  always 
kept  clean,  and  its  pores  open,  by  a  proper  temperature, 
it  would  not  be  easy  to  get  sick.    The  natives  in  most 

11 


242 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


places  are  among  the  most  cleanly  people  in  the  world, 
washing  their  bodies  daily  and  their  clothes  often, 
which,  I  suppose,  is  one  reason  of  their  good  health. 
Sometimes,  when  I  have  neglected  bathing  for  a  few 
days,  I  have  felt  the  evil  all  over  my  system,  and  on 
such  occasions  have  come  out  of  the  bath,  commonly  an 
open  stream,  with  feelings  wonderfully  renewed.  1 
made  a  free  use  of  soap,  brushes,  and  coarse  towels. 

It  is  not  every  one  that  knows  how  to  bathe.  Before 
entering  the  bath,  we  should  walk  briskly  for  a  few 
minutes  to  produce  a  little  perspiration.  Then  douse 
yourself  in  cold  water — warm  is  injurious  to  well  people 
— scrub  briskly  for  four  or  five  minutes,  wipe  dry,  and 
walk  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  design  of  getting 
into  a  perspiration  before  bathing,  and  of  walking  af- 
terward, is  to  produce  a  good  reaction,  without  which 
the  bath  may  do  more  harm  than  good.  Many  people 
have  a  mistaken  notion  that  we  must  not  go  into  the 
water  in  a  perspiration.  The  injury  which  has  resulted 
in  such  cases  arises  wholly  from  staying  in  too  long, 
and  from  not  taking  exercise  after  coming  out. 

Every  possible  precuation  should  be  taken  to  guard 
against  the  bad  effects  of  dampness.  I  have  never  been 
injured  by  a  good  wetting,  as  for  instance  in  a  shower 
of  rain.  Partial  wettings  have  seldom  left  me  wholly 
uninjured.  In  wet  weather  our  rooms,  and  especially 
the  bedroom,  should  be  dried  by  clear  charcoal  fires. 
The  coal  may  always  be  bought,  if  you  know  where  to 
find  it,  commonly  from  the  blacksmiths,  or  iron  smelt- 
ers. I  would  recommend  charcoal  fires  in  the  room  in 
the  fore  part  of  the  day,  with  the  windows  open.  They 
should  be  closed  by  four  o'clock  p.  m.,  after  the  room 


UNHEA LTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


243 


has  cooled,  and  before  the  damp  air  of  evening  has  en- 
tered it.  In  a  close  room,  charcoal  fires  wo'uld  produce 
death. 

Nothing'  is  more  injurious  than  damp  btds.  The  mat- 
tresses, &c,  must  be  regularly  sunned  or  dried,  if  we 
expect  to  be  healthy.  Even  in  America,  when  people 
sleep  away  from  home,  they  frequently  catch  cold,  and 
lay  the  blame  on  a  strange  bed.  The  truth  is,  that  many 
good  ladies  ignorantly  thrust  their  visitors  into  beds, 
which  have  neither  been  sunned  nor  occupied  for  a 
month.  To  be  sure,  the  sheets  are  very  clean,  but  the 
bed  is  full  of  filthy  poison  for  all  that,  being  stale  for 
want  of  sun  and  air.  Thousands  of  deaths  are  caused 
by  the  washerwomen,  who  are  too  careless  to  dry  the 
clothes  well  before  bringing  them  in.  What  would  pro- 
duce a  cold  in  America,  may  cause  death  in  Africa.  For 
the  same  reasons  that  we  avoid  other  dampness,  we 
should  be  careful  of  wet  feet  and  clothing,  and  the  night 
air. 

Fortunately,  several  laws  of  malaria  are  so  well  known, 
that  we  may  measurably  guard  against  it  by  availing 
ourselves  of  this  knowledge.  All  we  have  to  do,  is  to 
build  the  right  kind  of  houses,  in  the  right  places,  and 
to  keep  closely  within  them  at  the  right  times. 

1.  To  protect  the  clay  walls  against  rain,  our  houses 
in  Africa  are  always  surrounded  by  a  piazza.  This 
should  be  weather-boarded  above  and  below,  and  there 
should  be  shutters  to  close  the  open  portion  of  nights 
and  rainy  days,  so  as  to  exclude  the  damp  and  chilly 
air.  Ventilation  should  enter  the  rooms  above  the  doors 
and  windows,  which  should  be  closely  shut  about  sunset. 
This  alone  would  be  almost  sufficient  to  protect  us 


244 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


against  three  causes  of  disease — chilliness,  damp  and 
malaria.  But  still  further,  we  should  build  our  houses 
two  stories  high,  and  live  on  the  Upper  floor,  because 
malaria  is  most  abundant  nearest  to  the  ground.  It  has 
been  observed  in  sickly  localities  in  the  West  Indies, 
that  two  thirds  of  the  cases  occur  on  the  ground  floors. 

2.  Since  malaria  moves  with  the  wind,  our  houses 
should  never  be  built  to  the  leeward  of  a  place  where  it 
is  known  to  be  abundantly  produced.  When  I  arrived 
at  Ijaye  in  1852,  I  selected  a  beautiful  site  for  building, 

1  but  they  declared  the  place  was  bewitched,  and  all  who 
had  attempted  to  live  there  had  died.  The  chief  con- 
firmed this  story,  and  absolutely  refused  to  let  me  have 
the  ground. 

In  1854,  I  chanced  to  enter  the  forest  behind  the  wall, 
where  I  discovered  one  of  the  few  swamps  I  have  seen 
in  the  interior — a  filthy,  reedy  marsh,  containing  three 
or  four  acres,  and  lying  directly  to  the  windward  of  the 
enchanted  field.  Then  I  understood  the  nature  of  Akil- 
asho,  the  malignant  spirit,  wTho  is  said  to  wander  of 
nights  about  the  place  I  had  selected  for  a  station. 

3.  In  general  our  houses  should  be  built  in  the  centre 
of  the  town,  and  not  in  the  suburbs,  because  malaria  is 
far  less  active  in  the  midst  of  a  crowded  population. 
Charleston,  S.  C,  is  comparatively  healthy,  but  I  have 
been  told  that  a  stranger  can  not  spend  a  single  night  in 
the  adjacent  country  during  the  sickly  season,  without 
danger  of  fever.  To  escape  fires  we  should  cover  our 
houses  with  tiles.  At  Lagos,  where  thatched  and  tiled 
houses  stood  side  by  side,  the  former  were  burnt,  and 
the  latter  left  uninjured.  Tiles  are  better  for  health 
than  grass.    The  leeward  side  of  a  town,  other  things 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA.  245 


being  equal,  is  healthier  than  the  windward,  because 
the  effluvium  of  the  city  is  less  deleterious  than  the 
malaria  of  the  forest,  which  it  arrests. 

4.  The  house  should  stand  in  an  airy  situation.  It  has 
been  found  that  the  malaria  is  carried  away  from  such 
places  by  the  wind,  so  that  they  are  healthy  though  the 
poison  is  generated  on  the  spot. 

5.  The  sides  and  tops  of  hills  should  be  avoided,  for 
two  reasons  : — h  The  winds  carry  malaria  to  the  high- 
lands, where  it  is  retained,  perhaps  by  the  attraction  of 
the  ground  ;  and  2,  it  travels  with  fogs,  which  are  natu- 
rally drawn  towards  the  hills.  There  is  a  hill  in  the 
centre  of  Ogbomoshaw,  a  beautiful  place,  which  they 
pronounce  sickly,  and  leave  unoccupied.  Several  houses 
once  stood  on -the  hill,  as  the  ruins  show.  In  such  cases 
it  is  good  to  be  advised  by  the  natives,  even  though,  as 
at  Ijaye,  they  mix  their  information  with  superstition. 

6.  The  healthiest  places  near  a  sickly  river  are  im- 
mediately on  its  banks,  and  the  leeward  bank  is  best. 
The  reason  appears  to  be  that  malaria  near  the  water  is 
attracted  by  it,  and  absorbed.  Ships  anchored  a  mile 
from  the  African  shore  are  perfectly  free  from  danger 
of  malaria.  The  immediate  banks  of  our  southern  rivers 
are  healthier  than  higher  places  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. 

7.  The  leaves  of  trees,  like  water,  appear  to  absorb 
malaria;  at  least,  trees  are  known  to  be  a  protection, 
and  should  be  planted  near  the  house,  where  none  are 
already  standing.  They  should  not  be  so  numerous  as 
to  prevent  the  drying  of  the  earth  by  their  shade. 

8.  It  is  well  known  that  malaria  is  much  more  abun- 
dant or  active  by  night  than  by  day.    Sailors  may  come 


246 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ashore  in  Africa  daily,  without  danger,  but  dare  not 
sleep  there  a  single  night.  It  may  be  that  the  vapors 
of  night  are  the  chief  means  by  which  malaria  breaks 
away  from  the  attraction  of  the  earth,  and  rises  into  the 
air;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  chilliness  of  night  may 
condense  and  concentrate  it  near  the  ground.  However 
this  may  be,  we  must  avoid  the  night  air,  if  we  desire  to 
escape  the  effects  of  malaria.  When  "the  pestilence 
walketh,  in  darkness,"  we  must  be  closely  shut  up  in 
our  rooms,  with  the  piazzas  also  closed.  If  we  must  go 
out,  it  is  said  that  breathing  through  a  silk  handker- 
chief thrown  over  the  face  is  a  protection. 

No  mortal  can  live  long  on  the  Pontine  marshes  in 
Italy;  even  riding  along  the  road  through  them  by  night 
has  cost  men  their  lives.  Yet  a  story  is  told  of  a  man 
who  built  a  house  there,  and  lived  in  it  in  perfect  health. 
His  sleeping-room  was  as  nearly  air-tight  as  possible, 
and  he  never  exposed  himself  to  the  open  air  after  the 
dews  began  to  fall,  nor  till  they  had  dried  off  in  the 
morning.  By  building  proper  houses,  and  observing  all 
the  rules  of  health,  I  have  little  doubt  that  Europeans 
would  almost  escape  the  effects  of  the  African  climate. 

Attention  to  diet  is  even  more  important  in  Africa 
than  in  other  countries,  for  here  we  are  all  a  sort  of 
invalids. 

1.  We  should  eat  temperately,  because  our  digestive 
organs  are  not  able  to  bear  excess.  For  the  same  reason, 
we  should  eat  nothing  but  the  most  wholesome  food. 
That  fruits  are  the  proper  diet  in  tropical  countries  is  a 
mere  theory,  and  a  false  one.  They  are  decidedly  in- 
jurious to  health  in  Africa.  In  colder  latitudes,  berries, 
etc.  are  needed,  and  there  they  are  found.    They  are 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


247 


not  here.  A  negro  would  think  you  a  blockhead,  if  you 
should  talk  of  his  living  on  pine  apples,  bananas,  and 
other  trash,  fit  only  for  monkeys.  His  food  is  yams, 
beans,  Indian  corn,  vegetables,  meat  and  palm  oil.  This 
is  the  proper  diet  for  Europeans,  except  the  beans  and 
the  palm  oil.  Boiled,  or  even  fried  plantains  are  whole- 
some. A  friend  of  mine,  to  whom  I  preached  this  doc- 
trine, said,  "  Look  at  Mr.  ,  he  is  always  eating 

oranges.'7  I  replied,  "  Yes,  and  he  is  always  sick." 
Not  long  after  he  was  dead.  Good  sherry  wine  and  ale 
are  sometimes  useful  as  medicines,  except  where  there  is 
inflammation  of  the  liver,  &c.  Gin  and  brandy  are  not 
so.  It  is  true  that  most  people  use  them,  and  it  is 
equally  true  that  most  people  die. 

2.  We  should  eat  sufficiently,  because  we  have  no 
strength  to  waste  on  medical  asceticism.  Some  that  I 
have  heard  of  starved  themselves  on  coming  to  Africa, 
and  probably  lost  their  lives  in  consequence  of  the  errone- 
ous notion,  that  a  depleted  body  is  better  able  to  with- 
stand the  assaults  of  disease  than  a  strong  one.  Accli- 
mation fever  is  not  an  acute  disease,  and  death  com- 
monly happens  in  consequence  of  the  debility  by  which 
it  is  followed.  I  have  mentioned  that  relapses  are  very 
dangerous.  The  reason  is  because  they  find  us  weak  ; 
but  a  man  may  weaken  himself  so  much  by  starving, 
that  the  first  attack  is  equal  to  a  relapse. 

Plenty  of  moderate  exercise  in  the  cool  parts  of  the  day, 
or  in  the  shade,  is  not  only  advisable,  but  indispensable 
to  health.  Nothing  is  equal  to  this  in  curing  or  miti- 
gating debility.  It  gives  tone  to  all  the  organs  of  the 
body.  Judson  thought  that  the  average  life  of  mission- 
aries in  his  part  of  the  east,  was  about  five  years,  and 


248 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


that  inactivity  killed  them.  Few  better  reforms  could 
be  introduced  into  missionary  life,  than  for  each  member 
of  the  corps  to  labor  three  hours  every  day  at  some  use- 
ful mechanical  art,  which  would  give  relaxation  to  his 
mind,  and  vigor  to  his  body.  For  myself,  if  I  live,  I 
propose  to  put  me  up  a  little  shop,  and  try  to  learn 
the  art  of  making  chairs,  tables,  and  spinning  wheels. 
Even  fatigue  is  not  hurtful,  unless  carried  to  excess.  I 
have  walked  on  my  journeys,  till  my  bones  ached,  and 
yet  I  soon  felt  all  the  better  for  it.  In  Liberia,  when 
some  of  the  emigrants  who  came  out  about  the  same 
time  that  I  did,  were  moping  about  with  swollen  ankles, 
an  old  settler  pointed  them  to  me,  and  said,  "  Look  at 
that  man;  he  is  always  going,  and  see  how  much  bet- 
ter off  he  is  than  you  are." 

For  the  sake  of  the  people,  we  ought  to  preach  in  the 
streets  at  least  once  a  day,  but  loud  talking  and  mental 
excitement  are  not  the  right  kind  of  exercise  for  health. 
We  must  have  recreation.  Hard  study  is  well  nigh  as 
baneful  as  malaria.  Ease  without  indolence,  activity 
with  moderation,  should  be  the  motto  in  Africa. 

As  to  the  means  of  curing  disease,  I  have  but  little  to 
say.  I  will  mention  three  rules,  however,  which  in  the 
absence  of  medical  knowledge,  I  have  found  very  use- 
ful, and  would  recommend  to  others. 

1.  Endeavor  to  have  a  clear  knowledge  and  view  of 
the  symptoms  of  the  disease  you  are  obliged  to  prescribe 
for,  noticing  everything,  great  and  small,  and  contem- 
plating the  aggregate  of  all  the  symptoms,  as  consti- 
tuting one  corporate  body,  (so  to  speak)  or  one  disease. 
I  should  think  it  best  to  consult  none  but  the  best 
authors,  leaving  quacks  and  reformers  to  those  who 


UNHEALTHXNESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


249 


have  less  at  stake  than  you  or  your  patient  have  in  a 
case  of  African  fever  or  dysentery. 

2.  In  applying  remedies,  strike  at  the  symptoms, 
which  are  matters  of  fact,  and  not  at  the  name  of  the 
disease,  which  may  be  a  mere  shadow.  If  your  patient 
is  hot,  try  to  cool  him;  if  cold,  try  to  warm  him;  if  he 
vomits,  try  to  allay  the  irritation  of  his  stomach,  &c. 
It  is  easy  enough  to  find,  or  think  you  find,  the  name  of 
a  disease,  and  the  name  of  the  drug  which  they  say  is 
good  to  cure  it;  but  if  you  deal  in  names,  you  will 
probably  kill  as  many  missionaries  as  you  cure.  Never 
mind  the  name,  and  try  to  relieve  the  pains  and  troubles 
of  the  sufferer. 

3.  Never  administer  a  medicine,  unless  you  have  first 
ascertained  that  it  will  not  aggravate  any  of  the  symp- 
toms. For  the  uses  and  contra-indications  of  medicines 
consult  Pereira's  Materia  Medica,  a  work  which  I  would 
scarcely  exchange  for  half  a  library.  To  prescribe  at 
random,  without  consulting  the  symptoms  in  this  way, 
is  often  worse  than  to  give  no  medicine  at  all.  Beyond 
all  doubt,  many  a  man  who  has  died  would  have  got 
well  of  himself,  if  he  had  not  been  drugged.  And  yet 
drugs  are  very  useful,  when  rightly  applied.  That  man 
must  be  exceedingly  ignorant,  or  exceedingly  careless, 
and  in  either  case  exceedingly  guilty,  who  administers 
medicines  without  using  the  utmost  caution  to  ascer- 
tain whether  he  is  likely  to  make  the  patient  bet- 
ter or  worse. 

I  have  treated  but  three  cases  of  acclimation  fever. 
One  appeared  to  require  little  else  than  quinine,  as 
there  were  no  decided  symptoms,  and  this  remedy  was 
quite  effectual.    The  second  came  on  rather  suddenly, 
11* 


250 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


with  giddiness  and  loss  of  strength.  I  administered  a 
light  emetic,  followed  by  a  mild  purgative,  rubbed  the 
abdomen  and  spine  with  tincture  of  red  pepper,  and 
gave  quinine.  On  the  third  day,  the  fever  departed, 
and  the  patient  was  well  with  little  loss  of  strength. 
The  third  patient  was  a  robust,  rich-blooded  man,  and 
the  disease  was  acute.  I  gave  seven  grains  of  calomel, 
and  prescribed  the  same  again  on  the  third  day.  He 
refused  to  take  it.  Two  days  after,  he  sent  for  a  physi- 
cian, and  took  calomel.  He  was  soon  well.  In  such 
cases,  calomel  is  an  unrivalled  medicine.  I  have  known 
a  fever  broken  by  one  dose,  worked  off  with  epsom  salts. 
If  we  say  it  must  be  used  with  caution,  the  same  is  true 
of  all  drugs  whatever.  Nothing  should  be  used  where 
it  is  not  required,  and  calomel  is  not  required  in  most 
African  fevers.  Blood  letting  is  seldom  admissible.  In 
one  of  the  Niger  expeditions,  there  was  great  mortality, 
which  the  daily  use  of  rum  could  not  prevent.  The 
general  treatment  of  the  patients,  as  recorded  in  the 
journal,  may  be  expressed  about  thus,  "  Gave  him  calo- 
mel, bled  him,  shaved  his  head,  and  applied  a  blister — 
he  died." 

Large  doses  of  calomel,  such  as  we  take  in  America, 
might  prove  dangerous  in  Africa,  where  the  best  treat- 
ment is  that  which  spares  the  strength  of  the  patient. 
In  short,  we  should  be  guided  by  the  favorite  maxim  of 
physicians,  that  nature  cures  the  patient,  or  as  Watson 
expresses  it  in  his  lectures,  "The  Lord  healeth  our 
diseases " 

We  have  tried  various  remedies  for  dysentery,  but 
there  is  one  remedy  which  has  never  failed — the  com- 
mon gray  powder  or  mercury  and  .chalk  of  the  shops* 


UNHEALTHINESS  OF  WESTERN  AFRICA.  251 


The  young  leaves  of  the  bene  plant,  which  the  natives 
call  yemmotee,  thrown  into  cold  water,  make  a  mucilagin- 
ous drink,  which  is  very  valuable  in  dysentery.  The 
griping  has  always  been  relieved  by  cold  water  cly- 
sters. It  should  be  remembered  that  dysentery  and 
diarrhoea  are  totally  distinct  diseases.  I  knew  a  man 
treated  for  the  former  disease  with  brandy  and  the  like, 
which  endangered  his  life. 


252 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


GEOLOGY,  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  OF  YORUBA. 


ROCKS  ON    THE    COAST  —  ORGANIC     REMAINS  —  DRIFT — ROCKS   IN  THE 

INTERIOR  —  GRANITE  —  ANCIENT  SEA  COAST  —  VEGETATION  —  TREES  

TIMBER  —  THE     UPAS  POISONS  DRUGS  —  CLIMBERS  —  FLOWERS  

WEEDS  OP  CULTIVATION  —  FRUITS  —  BEASTS  —  BIRDS — REPTILES — ANTS. 


No  stones  are  found  near  the  coast.  The  first  that  I 
saw  on  the  road  to  the  interior  was  a  little  iron  conglome- 
rate, about  thirty  miles  from  Badagry.  The  same  rock 
is  found  in  various  parts  of  Yoruba,  and  is  particularly 
abundant  about  Ilorrin.  It  is  very  similar  to  that  used 
in  building  at  Freetown  and  Monrovia.  Sand  stone, 
which  appears  in  abundance  at  El  Mina  and  Akra,  is 
found  sparingly  in  Yoruba,  and  of  inferior  qualityj 
being  soft  and  friable.  Lime  is  not  found  in  any  form, 
though  marble  is  said  to  exist  in  the  mountains  back  of 
Dahomy.  The  German  missionaries  fifty  miles  in  the 
interior  from  Akra,  informed  me  that  lime  stone  is  com- 
mon there,  and  some  has  recently  been  discovered  on 
Sherbro  Island. 

Wherever  I  have  been  in  Africa,  I  have  searched  dili- 
gently for  organic  remains.  No  trace  could  be  found, 
unless  an  impression  on  a  bit  of  sand-stone  picked  up  in 
the  dry  bottom  of  the  lagoon,  a  mile  east  of  Cape  Coast 
Castle,  was  made  by  a  shell. 


ROCKS  AND  METALS 


253 


Water- worn  stones  or  drift,  are  found  in  the  east  bank 
of  the  river  Ogun,  about  fifteen  miles  above  Lagos,  and 
oeeasionally  on  the  highest  plains  of  Yoruba,  sometimes 
embedded  in  iron  clay  stone.  Travelers  have  found  them 
on  the  desert  west  of  Egypt,  and  in  Mandara,  south  of 
Kanike.  These  stones  in  Yoruba  are  much  weather- 
beaten. 

Impure  quartz  rock  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. It  is  seldom  crystalized,  but  some  of  the  crystals 
which  I  have  collected,  are  of  rare  and  curious  forms. 
The  coarse  granite  at  Abbeokuta  presents  fine  crystals 
of  feldspar.  Trap  rock  is  found  in  the  valley  south  of 
Oke-Efo  mountains,  and  a  little  protogene  near  that  town. 
In  the  granite  of  these  mountains,  I  discovered  small 
quantities  of  schorl,  a  rare  occurrence  in  Yoruba. 

The  only  metal  known  to  exist  is  iron,  which  in  some 
places  appears  to  be  abundant.  Vast  quantities  appear 
to  have  been  smelted  near  Abberrekodo,  but  no  one  can 
conjecture  when  or  by  whom  it  was  done.  The  people 
in  Ilorrin  assured  me  that  copper  mines  are  wrought  six 
days'  journey  east  from  that  city.  I  have  seen  gold  in 
quartz  rocks,  and  tested  it  both  with  acid  and  the  blow 
pipe.    Lead  mines  are  wrought  beyond  the  Niger. 

The  most  interesting  feature  in  the  geology  of  Yoruba, 
is  the  granite.  It  frequently  occurs  in  immense  solid 
masses,  some  of  which,  as  Ml.  Ado,  are  eight  or  ten 
miles  in  circuit,  and  so  high  as  to  be  seen  from  the  hill 
tops  several  days'  journey  distant. 

The  first  granite  occurs  at  Abbeokuta,  where  it  is 
quite  coarse.  As  we  proceed  to  the  interior,  the  grain 
becomes  smaller,  till  at  Oke-Efo  we  meet  with  granite 
of  decidedly  fine  grain,  and  capable  of  a  high  polish. 


254 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


The  usual  color  throughout  the  country  is  gray,  but  at 
Bioku  are  traces  of  a  fine  rose  color.  In  the  deep  ra- 
vine, north  of  the  village,  some  of  the  usual  gray  stone 
is  faced  with  a  black  material,  which  can  not  be  distin- 
guished from  trap.  Outside  of  the  town  wall,  south 
east  of  Abbeokuta,  are  several  blocks  of  granite  faced 
with  while. 

There  is  a  great  rock  in  Abbeokuta,  with  two  circu- 
lar holes  near  each  other,  high  up  on  the  western  side. 
They  resemble  two  eyes,  and  the  water  which  oozes 
from  them  during  the  rains  has  made  two  streaks  down 
the  side  of  the  rock,  suggesting  the  idea  of  tears. 
These  holes  are  inaccessible  to  the  examiner,  but  they 
appear  to  be  a  little  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter.  In  a 
bolder  on  top  of  the  same  hill,  I  found  another  hole,  to 
which  I  clambered,  not  without  some  danger  of  a  bro- 
ken neck.  Its  depth  was  only  about  three  times  its 
diameter,  and  it  tapered  to  a  point  at  the  bottom. 
There  was  nothing  in  it,  but  the  sides  appeared  more 
quartose  and  crystalline  than  other  parts  of  the  rock. 
The  two  holes  first  mentioned,  probably  communicate 
with  the  interior  of  the  rock  by  fissures  through  which 
the  rain  water  trickles,  impregnated  with  something 
which  makes  a  whitish  streak  on  the  stone.  I  have 
seen  similar  holes  in  different  parts  of  Y6ruba,  but 
none  of  them  appear  to  form  a  passage  for  water,  like 
the  two  at  Abbeokuta.  At  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  one  rock  is 
perforated  by  many  little  holes,  two  or  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and  not  very  deep.  But  the  most  remarkable 
cavities  of  this  kind  that  I  have  seen,  are  in  a  great 
rock  of  gneiss  which  rises  in  the  palm-clad  farms  in 
front  of  the  Baptist  mission  hcuse  at  Ijaye.    This  rock 


ROCKS  AND  METALS. 


255 


may  be  four  hundred  yards  in  length,  and  fifty  feet  in 
height.  The  eastern  and  western  ends,  which  are  per- 
pendicular, are  perforated  by  several  holes  three  or  four 
feet  in  diameter,  which  run  into  the  rock  horizontally  to 
an  unknown  depth.  Their  sides  are  marked  by  longitu- 
dinal grooves.  It  is  not  improbable  that  such  cavities 
were  formed  by  the  bursting  out  of  steam  and  water, 
when  the  rock  was  in  a  state  of  partial  fusion. 

Nearly  in  a  direct  line  between  the  Ake  and  Abaka 
road-stations  at  Abbeokuta,  is  a  mass  of  granite  hills, 
on  the  top  of  which  is  a  crater-like  basin  surrounded  by 
bolders.  In  the  woods,  on  top  of  the  mountain  at  Bi- 
olorrun-pellu,  is  a  still  larger  crater,  from  which  a  bold 
ravine  choked  up  with  bolders,  runs  down  the  steep  hill 
side  to  the  plain.  It  has  exactly  the  appearance  that 
might  have  been  produced  by  a  stream  of  water  gush- 
ing out  of  the  crater  when  the  rock  was  in  a  semi-fluid 
state.  There  are  several  other  such  crater-like  basins 
among  the  granite  hills  of  Yoruba,  but  the  largest  and 
most  remarkable  is  on  the  summit  of  Imeggeh.  This 
basin  is  large  and  deep,  and  a  ravine  full  of  bolders 
runs  down  the  southern  side  of  the  hill.  I  could  not 
resist  the  conclusion  that  these  are  true  craters. 

On  some  of  the  strong  imperishable  gneiss  rocks  a 
little  to  the  east  of  Bi-olorrun-pellu,  I  observed  certain 
erosions,  which  could  hardly  be  attributed  to  the  action 
of  the  weather.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Awaye  wall 
is  a  rock  which  is  worn  into  gullies  and  prong-like 
points,  some  of  which  are  a  foot  or  more  in  hight. 
This  strongly  excited  my  curiosity.  I  looked  in  every 
direction  for  others,  which  I  found,  and  finally  became 
convinced  that  they  must  have  been  formed  by  the  long 


256 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


continued  dashing  of  waves,  which  rolled  in  from  the 
south-east.  A  few  hundred  yards  north  of  Awaye  there 
is  a  mass  of  granite  several  hundred  feet  high.  The 
lower  parts  of  this  rock,  for  three  fourths  of  its  height, 
are  not  water  marked,  but  the  upper  part  and  the  flat 
top  are  distinctly  worn.  On  the  top,  I  picked  up  several 
bits  of  granite  which  had  been  worn  into  an  elliptical 
form  by  sliding  to  and  fro  in  the  waves.  Still  further 
west  is  another  high  rock,  the  perpendicular  base  of 
which  is  much  water-worn  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet, 
but  the  top  is  not  marked.  The  coarse  granite  at  Abbe- 
okuta  has  arisen  from  the  deep  places  of  the  earth,  since 
the  waves  beat  on  the  finer  grained  stone,  three  days' 
journey  further  interior.  The  granite  at  Awaye  has 
arisen  through  sand-stone. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  attracts  the  attention  of 
a  new  corner  to  Africa,  is  the  greenness  and  density  of 
the  vegetation.  A  person  who  has  never  been  in  the 
tropics  can  form  no  just  conception  of  its  luxuriance. 
The  hill  sides  and  the  banks  of  streams  often  present 
the  appearance  of  solid  walls  of  leaves  and  flowers. 
The  grass  on  the  prairies  is  from  eight  to  twelve  feet 
in  height,  and  so  thickly  set  as  to  be  almost  imper- 
vious. 

The  forests  of  Africa  are  chiefly  confined  to  the 
western  coast,  and  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers.  As 
a  general  thing,  the  continent  is  destitute  of  large 
trees.  It  is  characterized  by  thorny  bushes,  which 
grow  on  the  desert  and  everywhere,  and  by  low  tide 
spread  scrubby  trees,  which  flourish  on  the  prairies  or 
grass  fields.  In  most  places  it  is  impracticable  to  split 
fence  rails,  or  to  build  log  cabins,  the  trees  being  too 


TREES  AND  PLANTS. 


257 


short  when  of  the  proper  thickness,  and  too  large  when 
sufficiently  tall. 

Some  African  trees  are  incredibly  large.  If  we  may 
trust  our  authorities,  there  are  baobabs  in  the  region 
of  the  Senegal,  thirty  feet  in  diameter.  In  Yoruba,  the 
same  tree  scarcely  attains  one  third  of  that  thickness. 
The  cotton  tree  (bombax)  is  frequently  eight  or  ten 
feet  in  diameter.  In  Sierra  Leone,  it  is  a  common  thing 
to  see  canoes  of  a  single  piece  sixty  feet  long,  ten  feet 
beam,  and  five  feet  deep,  with  a  capacity  of  four  or  five 
tons.  Such  a  vessel  could  cross  the  Atlantic  to  South 
America  with  perfect  safety. 

The  African  teak  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  trees 
known  for  ship  building.  There  are  several  other  valu 
ble  trees  for  coarse  timber.  One  of  these,  the  s  a  s  s  a™ 
wood,  called  iroko  in  Yoruba,  is  regarded  with  super- 
stitious reverence  on  most  parts  of  the  coast.  The 
Yorubas  think  there  is  a  spirit  in  it,  because  doors  and 
tables  made  of  it  have  a  singular  habit  of  cracking  or 
capping,  especially  at  night.  Hence,  the  Yoruba  man 
worships  his  own  door  when  made,  as  it  usually  is, 
of  this  timber.  Last  spring,  I  came  up  the  coast  from 
Lagos,  with  a  gentleman  who  had  just  shipped  a  cargo 
of  wood  from  Old  Calabar,  which  he  believed  to  be 
mahogany.  Some  of  the  Yoruba  chiefs  had  canes  of 
ebony,  which  they  say  grows  in  the  country,  but  I  be- 
lieve that  fine  grained  wood  of  every  kind  will  prove  to 
be  scarce.  # 

Cam  wood,  exported  as  a  dye  stuff,  is  common  in  the 
forests  of  Guinea,  and  appeared  to  be  particularly 
abundant  on  the  St.  Paul's,  where  I  saw  it  in  Golah. 
The  oil-palm  is  very  abundant  on  the  coast,  and  on  the 


258 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


rivers  of  the  interior,  especially  of  the  Niger.  It  is 
said  to  occur  on  lake  Chad,  but  is  unknown  in  the  dry 
sunny  countries  about  the  Benue.  There  is  scarcely  a 
palm  tree  within  twenty  miles  of  Ilorrin.  I  have  seen 
four  other  species  of  palm  in  Yoruba  ;  the  wine-palm, 
erroneously  called  bamboo  ;  the  fan-palm,  a  tall  and 
graceful  tree  ;  the  cocoa  nut,  and  a  palmetto  ;  somewhat 
like  that  of  the  Southern  States.  The  date-palm  is 
found  in  some  of  the  gardens  at  Ilorrin.  The  prairies 
of  the  interior  are  beautified  by  the  butter  tree  and  the 
African  locust,  which  are  very  valuable  to  the  natives. 
The  seeds  of  the  latter  are  much  used  in  palaver  sauce. 
There  are  many  species  of  fig  tree,  none  of  which  bear 
valuable  fruit,  though  the  small  berries  of  some  have  a 
pleasant  taste.  Some  of  these  trees  are  occasionally 
three  feet  in  diameter,  Others  are  remarkable  for  their 
large  and  wide  spreading  branches,  and  are  much  used 
for  shade  trees  in  towns.  Another  species  has  very 
rough  leaves,  which  are  commonly  used  by  the  natives 
for  sand  paper. 

The  natives  have  told  me  of  a  tree  called  ashori,  which 
is  so  poisonous  that  no  plants  grow  under  it,  and  birds 
which  fly  too  near  it  fall  dead.  The  bark  and  wood  of 
this  tree,  which  is  commonly  called  igginld,  "  the  great 
tree,"  are  used  for  superstitious  purposes,  and  sell  for  a 
high  price.  They  showed  me  a  bit  of  the  wood  weigh- 
ing perhaps  half  a  dram,  which  was  valued  at  two  dol- 
lars. It  was  black  and  very  heavy.  The  bark  resem- 
bles that  of  the  hemlock.  When  a  man  wishes  to  utter 
a  dreadful  curse  against  his  enemy,  he  puts  some  of  this 
bark  into  his  mouth,  from  which  I  infer  that  the  dried 
bark,  at  least,  is  not  very  poisonous.    Yet  they  pretend 


TREES  AND  PLANTS. 


259 


that  men  sometimes  lose  their  lives  in  attempting  to 
detach  it  from  the  tree.  There  are  several  trees  of  this 
kind  in  the  forests  east  of  Yoruba,  which  is  the  only- 
country  where  they  are  found.  They  are  said  to  be 
large  trees,  and  always  green,  except  once  a  year,  when 
the  spiders  denude  them  of  leaves  in  a  single  night. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  African  forests  produce 
virulent  poisons.  Some  kinds  produce  speedy  death. 
Others  produce  their  effects  more  slowly  by  gradually 
destroying  health  and  life.  One  reputed  case  of  poison- 
ing, which  I  saw,  caused  the  whole  abdomen  to  feel  as 
hard  as  a  board.  The  woman  lived  several  months  after 
this.  All  the  natives  are  afraid  of  being  poisoned  by 
their  enemies,  and  I  suppose  that  such  cases  must  be 
common,  though  I  have  never  heard  of  more  than  two 
or  three  in  Yoruba.  The  general  introduction  of  fire 
arms  has  nearly  superseded  the  use  of  poisoned  arrows, 
but  they  are  sometimes  used  and  produce  the  most  hor- 
rid effects.  I  was  once  called  to  visit  a  young  man  who 
had  been  wounded  by  a  poisoned  arrow,  in  the  arm. 
His  hand  was  gone,  the  bones  of  the  lower  arm  were 
naked  and  dry  almost  to  the  elbow,  and  the  inflamed 
stump  was  still  rotting  away. 

Some  of  the  medicinal  drugs  used  by  the  natives  are 
valuable,  particularly  the  tonics  and  alteratives,  in  the 
use  of  which  they  exhibit  considerable  skill.  Tonics 
are  often  used  in  the  form  of  medicated  baths.  In  some 
of  the  forests  there  is  abundance  of  sarsaparilla,  of  the 
mealy  variety,  which  has  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
American  roots.  Cubebs  are  common  but  not  abundant. 
The  aloe  plant  flourishes  on  the  prairies.  The  white 
pond  lily  here  as  elsewhere  is  used  as  a  medicine.  But 


260 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


most  of  the  drugs,  like  the  vegetation  generally,  are 
unknown  in  other  countries. 

The  forests  abound  in  climbers,  many  of  which  are  as 
flexible  and  almost  as  strong  as  a  hempen  rope.  They 
are  used  by  the  natives  for  tying  all  sorts  of  things. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  reeds  and  ratans.  The  West 
India  cane  or  bamboo  is  not  found  in  the  country,  but 
has  been  introduced  at  Sierra  Leone.  I  have  sent  some 
to  Yoruba,  where  it  will  be  invaluable  on  account  of  the 
great  scarcity  of  poles  for  rafters. 

None  of  the  prairies,  except  about  Ilorrin,  are  beau- 
tified by  beds  of  bright  flowers  as  in  America.  Herb- 
aceous plants  with  showy  flowers  are  remarkably  scarce. 
Flowering  trees  and  shrubs  are  very  numerous.  Gar- 
denias and  jasmins  are  seen  everywhere. 

The  weeds  of  cultivation,  as  purslain,  crab  grass, 
Spanish  needles,  etc.,  are  very  similar  to  those  of  the 
Southern  States.  The  trees,  weeds  and  grasses  of  the 
forests  and  prairies  are  different.  Oaks,  pines,  hicko- 
ries, and  the  whole  catalogue  of  trees  with  which  we 
are  familiar  at  home,  are  wholly  unknown  in  Africa. 
The  wild  fruits  are  numerous,  yet  scarcely  ever  eatable 
except  for  monkeys.  Blackberries,  whortleberries,  and 
the  numerous  other  little  fruits  which  flourish  here  are 
unknown  there.  Peaches,  apples,  plums,  and  other 
fruits  of  the  temperate  zone,  will  not  grow  in  Africa, 
owing  to  the  perpetual  summer  of  the  climate.  None 
of  the  tropical  fruits  have  been  introduced  into  Yoruba, 
except  plantains,  limes  and  papaws. 

The  beasts,  birds,  fishes,  etc.,  of  Africa,  like  the  plants, 
are  mostly  different  from  those  of  our  own  country. 
The  principal  beasts  are  elephants,  rhinoceroses,  hip- 


ANIMALS. 


261 


popotami,  lions,  leopards,  (no  tigers,)  panthers,  two  or 
three  kinds  of  wild  cats,  civet  cats,  hyenas,  wild  dogs, 
(ajalio,  jackals  ?)  the  casra  (kollokolloh),  coneys,  rab- 
bits, several  species  of  squirrel,  various  antelopes,  (no 
deer,)  wild  hogs  (two  species,)  buffaloes,  numerous  rats 
and  mice,  bats,  apes  and  monkeys.  Among  the  birds 
we  may  enumerate  eagles,  several  hawks,  crows,  two 
kinds  of  buzzards,  herons,  crested  cranes,  storks,  two 
species  of  Guinea  fowl,  quails,  the  spurred  partridge, 
the  hen-tailed  partridge  (in  the  mountains,)  various 
kinds  of  doves  and  pigeons,  wild  ducks,  (no  geese,) 
king-fishers,  one  species  of  which  feeds  on  butterflies, 
swallows,  mocking  birds,  the  curious  long-shafted  goat- 
sucker, various  other  goat-suckers  (whip-poor-wills,) 
parrots,  paroquets,  love-birds,  cockatoos,  horn-bills, 
creepers,  larks,  sparrows  (some  red  and  some  black,) 
orioles,  scarlet  weavers,  sun-birds  and  many  other  birds 
for  which  we  have  no  names.  Of  fish,  reptiles,  and  in- 
sects, we  have  perch,  a  sort  of  trout,  catfish,  torpedoes, 
and  many  other  of  strange  forms  ;  huge  snakes,  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  in  length,  vipers,  poisonous  green  snakes, 
and  a  few  others,  but  no  water  snakes — guanoes,  cham- 
eleons, various  kinds  of  lizards,  toads,  frogs,  tortoises, 
snails  as  large  as  a  tea  cup,  crabs,  muscles,  some  of 
which  are  like  oysters  ;  spiders,  centipedes,  scorpions 
(yellow  and  black,  the  latter  six  inches  long,)  fleas^ 
ticks,  wasps,  (no-  hornets,)  bees,  beetles,  etc.  House 
flies,  fleas,  musketoes  and  other  troublesome  insects  arc 
surprisingly  scarce.  Earth-worms  of  great  size  are  in- 
numerable. The  natives  deny  that  any  of  the  spiders 
are  poisonous. 

Two  species  of  the  innumerable  ants  deserve  a  more 


262 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


special  notice.  The  white  ant  (wood  louse)  or  large 
termites,  commonly  called  bug-bug,  builds  hillocks  to  a 
height  of  eight  or  ten  feet,  which  are  usually  surround- 
ed by  several  picturesque  spires  or  turrets.  They  feed 
entirely  on  dry  vegetable  matter,  and  are  very  destruc- 
tive to  cloth,  books  and  most  kinds  of  wood.  Unless  our 
rooms  are  well  lighted  by  doors  and  windows,  there  is 
danger  of  their  invading  the  house  in  such  numbers  as 
to  do  great  mischief  in  a  few  days.  Sometimes  they 
will  perforate  a  box  and  mar  the  contents  before  we  are 
aware  of  their  presence.  They  refuse  to  eat  the  iroko 
or  sassa  wood,  and  even  pine  boxes  are  safe  if  set  on 
stones  so  as  to  be  a  few  inches  above  the  ground. 

There  are  two  species  of  ants,  one  black  and  the 
other  red,  appropriately  called  drivers.  The}'  march 
forth  by  the  million  and  feed  on  nothing  but  flesh.  No 
living  creature  can  stand  before  them.  When  they  in- 
vade a  house,  which  is  generally  at  night,  we  are  obliged 
to  retire,  and  every  mouse,  roach,  cricket,  scorpion,  etc., 
which  can  not  escape  is  sure  to  be  devoured.  On  one 
occasion  they  killed  a  parrot  in  its  cage.  Their  visits, 
though  disagreeable,  do  not  last  more  than  an  hour  or 
two,  unless  they  should  find  a  piece  of  meat  or  the  like 
to  detain  them,  and  they  are  useful  and  therefore  wel- 
come, because  they  clear  the  premises  of  rats  and 
insects.  The  red  drivers  are  particularly  fond  of  feed- 
ing on  the  white  ants,  or  bug-bugs,  and  in  this  way 
are  often  very  useful. 

The  domestic  animals  in  Yoruba  are  the  same  as  our 
own,  except  that  there  are  no  geese  or  pea-fowls.  Ow- 
ing to  the  hotness  of  the  climate,  the  sheep  are  covered 
with  hair  instead  of  wool.    The  bearded  sheep  is  pecu- 


ANIMALS. 


263 


liar  to  Sudan.  The  common  horse  of  the  country  is  a 
compact  sturdy  pony,  but  the  horses  imported  from  the 
coast  are  fine  animals,  which  sell  at  Ilorrin  for  three, 
four,  or  five  hundred  dollars,  occasionally  for  one  hun- 
dred bags  of  cowries,  or  one  thousand  dollars.  None  of 
the  horses  are  gelded  in  Africa. 


264 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  OF  YORUBA  —  MEN  CREATED  AT  IFEH  —  SIXTEEN 
EMIGRANTS  FROM  THE  EAST  —  DRYING  UP  OF  THE  WATERS  —  YORUBAS 
ONCE  LIVED  IN  NUFE  —  SIX  YORUBA  TRIBES  —  DESCENDED  FROM  NIM- 
ROD  —  WHITE  IMMIGRANTS  TO  SUDAN  —  AFFINITIES  OF  THE  YORUBA 
TONGUE  —  LIST  OF  YORUBA  AND  PULOH  WORDS. 

In  several  African  languages,  the  syllable  ha  (cf.  abay 
father)  implies  paternity,  head-ship,  greatness.  Thus 
in  the  Mandingo  language,  we  have  ba,  great,  and  in  the 
Yoruba,  babba,  a  father,  obba,  a  king,  and  baba,  a  great 
affair  or  matter.  The  Hebrew  yar,  a  river,  which  has  its 
cognates  in  many  languages,  appears  to  be  the  same 
word  as  the  Puloh  goru,  a  river,  the  y  being  hardened 
into  g.  According  to  some  travelers,  the  upper  Niger 
is  called  Jolliba,  but  the  Mandingoes,  whom  I  met  in 
Golah,  called  it  Yolla  Ba,  the  great  Yolla  *  By  a  very 
customary  interchange  of  letters,  Yolla  Ba  becomes 
Yorra  Ba,  Yaru  Ba,  Yari  Ba  and  Yar  Ba,  which  are  the 
various  names  by  which  our  country  of  Yoruba  is 
known  in  different  parts  of  Central  Africa.  We  may 
infer,  then,  that  Yoruba,  from  Goru  Ba,  means  literally 

*  The  word  ba  (cf.  yar)  Arab  bahr,  signifies  river,  but  in  that  sense 
it  precedes  the  name  of  the  stream,  as  "  Ba  Fing*,"  the  river  Fing. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  Jolliba  means  the  river  Jolli,  for  jolli 
itself  means  river. 


ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS. 


265 


the  "  great  river,"  and  that  the  country  derived  its 
name  from  the  Niger  or  Jolliba.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark, that  the  Yorubas,  though  very  expert  in  tracing 
words  of  their  language  to  their  roots,  never  attempt 
to  determine  the  etymology  of  their  national  name.  We 
must  admit,  however,  that  the  derivation  of  Yoruba 
from  Yar  Ba  or  Goru  Ba  is  liable  to  one  objection.  In 
Africa  as  in  America,  the  names  of  tribes  are  never  de- 
rived from  those  of  countries,  but  the  contrary  ;  and  we 
are  no  more  allowed  to  say  Dahomans,  Yorubans,  etc.  ; 
than  Cherokeeans  or  Choctawans.  It  is  possible,  then, 
that  we  must  look  to  some  other  source  for  the  origin 
of  the  name  Yoruba.  It  is  certainly  a  very  ancient 
name  in  the  traditions  of  the  people,  and  may  have 
been  imported  from  the  remote  east.  The  resemblance 
between  this  and  another  very  ancient  traditional  name, 
Europa,  must  be  accidental. 

According  to  one  tradition  of  the  Yorubas,  their  an- 
cestors, and  in  fact,  the  original  parents  of  the  whole 
human  race,  were  created  at  Ifeh,  which  still  exists  in 
the  east  of  the  Yoruba  kingdom.  They  told  Lander, 
and  have  told  me,  that  Ifeh,  where  men  were  created, 
is  several  months'  journey  distant,  and  sometimes  they 
speak  of  it  as  standing  on  the  sea,  although,  of  course, 
they  are  not  ignorant  of  its  true  location.  There  seems 
to  be  a  confused  memory  of  another  Ifeh,  from  which 
their  ancestors  emigrated  to  this  country,  and  founded 
the  present  town  of  that  name,  which  is  universally 
regarded  as  the  metropolis  of  all  the  Yoruba  tribes. 

According  to  another  tradition,  the  Yorubas  are  de- 
rived from  sixteen  persons,  who  were  sent  out  to  form  a 
colony  by  some  personage  whose  name  has  not  been 
12 


266 


CESTTKAL  AFRICA, 


preserved.  Their  leader  took  with  him  a  hen  and  a 
piece  of  cloth,  in  which  was  tied  up  a  palm  nut  and  a 
quantity  of  dry  earth.  For  a  long  time  they  waded 
through  water,  but  at  last  their  leader  untied  his  cloth, 
and  poured  out  the  earth,  which  immediately  became  a 
small  dry  bank,  and  the  palm  nut  sprang  up  into  a  tree 
of  sixteen  branches.*  The  hen  then  flew  upon  the 
bank  and  scratched  the  earth  in  every  direction,  which 
dried  up  the  water.t  The  little  colony  settled  at  Ifeh, 
whence  they  spread  abroad  in  the  surrounding  country. 

Others  relate  that  their  ancestors  once  lived  east  of 
the  Niger,  and  were  driven  into  Yoruba  by  war,  at  a 
time  when  the  water  was  very  high.  The  language  of 
Nufe  still  bears  traces  of  its  Yoruba  origin,  but  most  of 
the  primitive  roots  and  their  derivations  have  been  ex- 
changed for  other  words. 

We  are  told  further,  by  another  tradition,  that  the 
Yoruba  tribes,  Iketu,  Egba,  Ijebu,  Ifeh,  Ibini  (Benin) 
and  Yoruba,  are  descended  from  six  brothers  of  these 
names,  who  were  the  sons  of  one-  mother.  Yoruba,  the 
youngest  son,  became  the  ruler  of  the  rest,  and  hence 
the  Yoruba  king  was  the  sovereign  of  all  these  nations. 
After  a  while,  Benin — (where  the  language  at  present 
has  very  little  affinity  to  the  Ycjruba) — became  inde- 
pendent, and  in  course  of  time,  the  other  four  tribes 
withdrew  from  the  confederacy,  leaving  Yoruba  alone. 
Still  the  Yoruba  king  was  master  of  Effong  or  Kakan- 
da  and  Kupa,  and  had  Dahomy  or  Popo  for  a  tributary. 


*  The  hen  and  palm  tree  remind  us  of  the  dove  and  the  olive  branch, 
t  The  North  American  Indians  have  a  somewhat  similar  tradition, 
that  the  waters  were  dried  up  by  means  of  a  ec  lsk-rat. 


ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS.  267 


All  accounts  agree  that  the  Yorubas  first  lived  at  Ifeh. 
The  next  settlement  was  at  Igboho,  (Bohoo)  which  be- 
came the  capital  of  Yoruba.  The  great  mother  of  the 
six  tribes  is  still  worshipped  at  Ifeh  and  Abbeokuta, 
under  the  somewhat  remarkable  name  of  Iyommodeh — 
(Iya  ommoh  oddeh) — the  mother  of  the  hunter's  childrem 
We  are  not  informed  who  this  "mighty  hunter77  was. 

But  the  most  curious  tradition  is  derived  from  anoth- 
er source.  When  Denham  and  Clapperton  were  in 
Central  Africa  thirty  years  ago,  they  obtained  an 
abridgement  of  a  work  written  in  Arabic  by  the  Puloh 
king,  Bello  of  Sokoto,  eutitled  "  The  Dissolver  of  diffi- 
culties in  the  history  of  the  country  of  Takrour"  (i.  e., 
Central  Africa)  ;  to  which  is  added  by  the  abridger, 
"  Composed  by  the  ornament  of  his  time,  and  the  un- 
equalled among  his  cotemporaries,  the  Prince  of  the 
Faithful,  and  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Mohammed  Bello, 
son  of  the  Prodigy  of  his  age,  the  noble  Sheikh,  Os- 
man."*  In  this  work,  the  writer  refers  familiarly  to 
African  chronicles  written  long  ago  anterior  to  the 
presence  of  the  Arabs  in  Sudan,  and  he  expressly  says 
that  the  Copts,  who  settled  Burnu,  wrote  a  history  of 
their  transactions,  though  he  does  not  say  that  these 
are  the  authorities  which  he  uses. 

After  relating  various  particulars  of  other  countries 
in  Takrour,  Bello  gives  the  following  account  of  Yoru- 
ba, which  he  calls  Yarba: — "The  inhabitants  of  this 
province,  it  is  supposed,  originated  from  the  remnant 
of  the  children  of  Canaan,  who  were  of  the  tribe  of 
Nimrod.    The  cause  of  their  establishment  in  the  west 


*  See  Appendix  to  Denham  and  Clapperton's  Travels. 


268 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


of  Africa  was,  as  it  is  stated,  in  consequence  of  their 
being*  driven  by  Yaarooba,  (Yaruba,)  son  of  K  ah  tan,* 
out  of  Arabia  to  the  western  coast  between  Egypt  and 
Abyssinia.  From  that  spot,  they  advanced  into  the  in- 
terior of  Africa,  till  they  reached  Yarba,  where  they 
fixed  their  residence.  On  their  way,  they  left  in  every 
place  where  they  stopped  at,  a  tribe  of  their  own  people. 
Thus  it  is  supposed  that  all  the  tribes  of  Sudan,  who 
inhabit  the  mountains,  are  originated  from  them,  as  also 
the  inhabitants  of  Yauri." 

On  this  extract  we  may  remark,  1.  That  Bello  de- 
rives the  Yorubas  from  Nimrod,  while  they  themselves, 
who  know  nothing  of  Nimrod,  claim  to  be  descended 
from  "  the  mother  of  the  hunter's  children."  2.  Bello 
says  they  were  driven  from  Arabia  by  Yaarooba,  while 
they  profess  to  have  been  sent  from  some  remote  coun- 
try, and  one  of  their  first  princes  was  named  Yoruba. 
3.  If  it  is  true  that  the  kindred  of  the  Yorubas  in  Su- 
dan are  now  confined  to  the  mountains,  as  Bello  inti- 
mates, we  may  infer  that  they  were  forced  into  these 
positions  by  the  encroachments  of  more  powerful  peo- 
ple. That  there  have  been  large  immigrations  of  white 
people  into  Africa  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  there  are 
now  millions  of  mulattoes  in  Sudan.  Bello  declares 
that  a  colony  of  Copts  settled  in  Burnu.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  Psylli  or  Psulloi  of  Northern  Africa 
were  the  ancestors  of  the  Pulohs,  who  are  now  numer- 


*  "  This,"  says  the  translator,  "  was  a  great  sovereign  of  Arabia, 
who,  according  to  an  Arabian  historian,  was  king  of  Yemen,  in  the 
days  of  the  prophet  Heber."  Kahtan  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
who  wrote  the  Arabic  langunge. 


ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS.  269 


ous  on  the  south  of  Sahara.  In  addition  to  all  this, 
that  "  giant  race"  of  red-haired,  hook-nosed  men,  who 
are  affirmed  to  have  figured  so  largely  among  the  an- 
cients of  Europe,  Asia,  America,  and  the  Pacific  Islands, 
evidently  came  hither  also;  for  we  may  find  some  ne- 
groes with  Roman  noses  and  some  with  a  reddish  tinge 
of  hair  and  beard  to  this  day.  The  fair-skinned,  red- 
haired  men  who  live  in  the  Atlas  mountains  may  be  a 
remnant  of  the  invaders. 

It  is  now  known  that  the  affinities  of  the  Yoruba 
language  extend  along  the  coast  to  Old  Calabar,  and  far 
interior  along  the  course  of  the  Benue  or  Chadda.  Some 
of  the  tribes  in  the  latter  locality,  as  the  Jukus,  are 
among  the  most  degraded  of  all  the  Negro  tribes  ; 
whereas  the  language,  arts,  traditions  and  mythology 
of  the  Yorubas  are  good  evidence  that  they  themselves 
have  always  been  somewhat  civilized.  The  Jukus  are 
probably  a  mixture  of  Yorubas  and  pure  typical  negroes, 
who  have  never  yet  been  found  in  a  state  of  society 
above  that  of  deep  barbarism. 

Only  four  years  ago,  when  Bishop  Vidall  wrote  on  this 
subject,  the  affinities  of  the  Yoruba  tongue  were  wholly 
unknown.  It  stood  unclassified.  Since  that  time  the 
publication  of  Koelle's  Polyglotta  African  a,  and  the  ex- 
pedition up  the  Benue,  and  the  researches  of  other  trav- 
elers, have  considerably  extended  our  acquaintance 
with  African  languages. 

I  shall  omit  many  things  in  relation  to  the  affinities 
of  the  Yoruba  language  which  I  had  marked  for  this 
chapter,  but  I  can  not  forbear  to  give  a  few  examples  of 
words  which  appear  to  be  widely  diffused,  not  only  in 
Western  and  Central  Africa,  but  in  other  parts  of  the 


270 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


world.  The  Yoruba  numeral  one,  is  eni  and  okkan  (or 
Jean,)  both  of  which  are  common  in  one  form  or  another 
to  various  other  languages.  We  can  scarcely  doubt 
that  eni  is  the  same  word  as  the  Greek  en,  Saxon  an, 
French  un,  Spanish  uno,  Portuguese  hum,  Welsh  un,  La- 
tin unus,  English  one.  In  Africa,  we  find  in  the  Okam 
wono,  Opandi  onyi,  Kupa  enyi,  and  Nufe  weni,  correspond- 
ing with  Yoruba  eni.  Some  of  the  widely-spread  cog- 
nates of  okkan  or  kan,  one,  appear  to  be  Sanscrit  eka, 
Hebrew  ekhad,  Pelevi  jek,  Finnic  aku ;  and  in  Africa, 
Uchaw  kan,  Isubu  yokkoh,  Ashantee  ekko,  Oloma  oggu, 
and  many  others.  In  the  Yoruba  word  kan,  the  n  is  a 
very  slight  nasal,  almost  silent,  and  the  verb  ka  means 
to  count. 

Etta,  three,  corresponds  with  the  Akra  etteh,  Kroo  ta, 
Dahomy  aton,  Mahee  oton,  Opaddo  eta,  Puloh  tatti,  Ham  tat, 
Mbarike  itar,  etc.,  and  may  be  compared  with  the  Sans- 
crit tri,  Greek  treis,  Latin  tres,  Saxon  thri,  etc. 

Babha,  the  Yoruba  word  for  father,  is  found  every 
where;  Kanike  aba,  Hausa  oba,  Mbe  mba,  Wolof  bai,  Mose, 
Dey,  and  others  ba,  Shoa,  etc.  aha,  ~F\\\\&m  papai,  Bullom 
pua,  Mandingo,  etc.  fa;  Portuguese  pai,  in  the  languages 
of  Brazil  papa,  papaio,  paba,  babi;  Java  ba,  papa;  in  some 
parts  of  India  baw  and  fa,  (see  Balbi's  Atlas,)  Celebes 
bapa,  Madagascar  baba,  Galla  abo  and  abai. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Yoruba  language  has  been 
derived  according  to  definite  rules  from  a  little  more 
than  one  hundred  biliteral  verbs,  as  bo,  to  cover,  fi,  to 
make,  10a,  to  dig.  Many,  perhaps  all  of  these  verbs, 
can  be  shown  to  have  a  real,  or  at  least,  seeming  and 
wonderful  affinity  to  the  ancient  verbs  of  other  lan- 
guages, as  for  instance,  ri,  to  see,  Arabic  ray,  Hebrew 


ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS.  271 


raah,  Greek  arao  ;  loh*  to  grind,  Greek  aleo  ;  le,  to  lay 
down,  English  lay ;  de,  to  bind,  Greek  deo,  Saxon  tian, 
English  tie ;  ti,  to  shut,  Hebrew  atar.  Making  all  due 
allowance  for  fancied  and  accidental  resemblances,  the 
Yoruba  verbs,  as  the  ground  work  for  a  primitive  lan- 
guage, are  exceedingly  interesting  to  the  philologist. 
They  are  still  more  so  from  the  fact  that  they  occasion- 
ally, or  we  might  say  frequently  appear  to  contain  the 
radicals  of  words  which  are  primitives  in  other  lan- 
guages. To  give  an  instance,  bi  means  primarily  to  gen- 
erate— hence  to  beget,  to  conceive,  to  bear.  From 
this  comes  the  noun,  bibi,  any  thing  which  is  born.  In 
the  Puloh  language  we  have  bebi,  (pronounced  baby) 
sometimes  contracted  to  bi,  meaning  any  young  crea- 
ture, man  or  brute.  To  bibi  and  bebi  compare  the  Eng- 
lish baby,  German  bube,  a  boy,  and  English  booby,  Irish 
baban,  Syriac  babia,  Latin  pupa,  a  girl,  Arabic  babos,  the 
young  of  man  or  beast,  Syriac  babosa,  a  child,  American 
Indian  pappoos,  a  babe,  all  of  which  words  may  have 
been  derived  from  bi  or  from  some  more  ancient  verb 
which  bi  represents. 

In  the  Yoruba,  we  have  obi,  a  parent,  either  father  or 
mother.  In  Hausa,  oba,  a  father,  corresponding  with 
aba,  baba,  etc.,  and  probably  from  the  same  root,  bi,  to 
beget ;  the  i  being  changed  to  a  in  oba,  as  it  is  e  in  bebi, 
to  u  in  bube,  and  to  a  in  the  Syriac  babia.  The  o  in  obi 
means  (as  it  does  in  Yoruba  and  Nufe)  he,  and  corres- 
ponds with  the  Greek  o,  e5  to,  Hebrew  ha,  English  he. 
Obi  means  he  or  she  that  begets;  and  I  suppose  that  oba} 
baba,  etc.,  signify  literally  the  begetter. 


*  The  h  is  added  merely  to  show  that  o  is  close,  as  in  lot,  not. 


272 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


But  there  is  another  word  for  father,  no  less  widely 
diffused  than  baba  itself.  The  Dahomy  word  for  father 
is  da;  Goali,  nda;  Opandi,  ada ;  Bassa  (of  the  interior), 
ada;  Nufe,  nda  (n  means  he)  ;  Golah,  da;  Kupa,  dada; 
Akra,  tatia;  Benin,  ita;  Isubu,  tete;  Melon,  ta;  Kakanda, 
atta;  Eskimo  Indians,  atta;  Basque,  aita;  in  some  of  the 
Celtic  languages,  aihair  ;  Welsh,  tad;  Albanian,  ale  and 
talta;  Slavonic,  otdz  (preterminal  s)  and  otac;  American 
Indian,  dadi;  English,  daddy.  In  the  Yoruba,  we  have 
dada,  which  may  mean  either  nature  or  creator,  from  dd, 
to  create  ;  and  to  this  root  I  would  refer  all  the  above 
words  for  father.  The  Yorubas  sometimes  form  a  verb 
by  uniting  two  others,  and  we  could  fancy  that  hi  dd,  to 
create,  by  begetting,  may  be  the  root  of  some  of  the 
words  for  father:  as,  Saxon,  feder;  Dutch,  xader  ;  Sans- 
crit, pita;  Latin,  pater;  Danish,  fader;  Persian,  padarl 
Then  we  could  go  further  and  fancy  that  bi,  to  beget,  and 
dd,  to  create,  are  the  radicals  of  the  Swedish  foda,  and 
Danish  foder,  to  beget,  feed,  etc.! 

The  Yoruba  abounds  in  these  curious  coincidences, 
in  regard  to  the  sounds  and  meanings  of  words.  Take 
the  verb  sun,  to  burn,  and  compare  English  sun,  and  by 
dropping  n,  or  changing  it  to  I,  so,  sol,  suli,  etc.,  in  most 
of  the  Greco-Latin,  Germanic  and  Slavonic  languages 
and  dialects.  The  Yoruba  orrun,  heaven  ;  orun,  sun  ; 
oro,  one  of  their  gods  ;  may  be  compared  with  ouranus, 
heaven :  with  various  words  for  day,  as,  Peruvian,  uru; 
Phillipines,  arao;  Madagascar,  auru;  with  Latin  aurora 
and  Yoruba  ouraw,  morning  ;  with  Hebrew,  aur,  light ; 
Latin,  aurum;  and  Yoruba,  wura,  gold  ;  and  with  many 
other  words  in  every  part  of  the  world.  We  have,  in 
YSruba,  alcara,  bread ;  Hebrew,  akala,  food ;  ataba,  a 


ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS.  273 


dove  ;  Arabic,  hatafa,  to  coo  ;  German,  taube,  a  dove. 
Enni,  a  personal  pronoun,  meaning  one,  any  ;  ehin,  the 
back  ;  Arabic,  akhin,  last,  hinderpart ;  olio,  a  farm  ;  Cop- 
tic, koi,  a  field.  But  this  may  suffice  for  the  present :  at 
some  future  time  I  may  enter  more  fully  into  this  subject. 
The  examples  now  given  are  only  specimens  of  the 
various  points  in  which  the  Yoruba  language  appears  to 
be  connected  with  those  of  Africa  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  Europe  and  Asia  on  the  other. 

In  some  respects,  the  Yoruba  language  is  very  defec- 
tive. It  has  no  article.  The  plural  of  nouns  is  distin- 
guished by  prefixing  aw  on,  they.  All  the  words  used 
as  adjectives,  are  either  verbs  or  nouns.  Enia  re, 
means  the  person  is  good;  the  so-called  adjective  re  being 
a  verb,  and  conjugated  like  other  verbs.  Enia  rere,  a 
good  person,  means  literally  a  person  of  goodness.  The 
pronoun  of  the  third  person  has  no  distinction  of  gen-e 
der,  o  or  on  being  used  indiscriminately  for  he,  she,  or  it. 
Verbs  are  conjugated  by  means  of  auxiliaries,  and  there 
is  no  variation  for  person  and  number.  Finally,  there 
is  no  passive  voice.  All  the  defects  of  the  language, 
however,  are  ingeniously  remedied  by  one  contrivance 
or  another,  so  that  the  Yoruba,  after  all,  is  no  mean  lan- 
guage. My  vocabulary,  which  is  nearly  ready  to  copy, 
will  probably  contain  twelve  thousand  words. 

I  may  now  conclude  this  chapter  with  some  speci- 
mens of  Yoruba  and  Puloh  words. 


English.      Puloh.  Yoruba. 


Head,         Hore,         Ori,  from  ri,  to  see  (?) 
Hand,         Jungoh,      Awwaw,  from  waw,  to  drag  (?) 
12* 


274 

CENTRAL  AFRICA. 

English. 

Puloh. 

Yoruba. 

TTaiv 
JlIcIII  , 

Lebbeh, 

Irun. 

Heart, 

Gabareh, 

Okkan,  from  kan,  to  knock. 

xiea  v  en, 

Itonda, 

Orrun. 

Hawk, 

Chilal, 

Awodi. 

TTill 
Xllll, 

Dun, 

Oke. 

Hoe, 

Jaloh, 

Okkaw,  from  kaw,  to  heap  up. 

Horn, 

Waladu, 

Iwo. 

Horse, 

Pochu, 

Eshin,  from  shin,  to  run  swiftly, 

r  ace, 

Yeso, 

Ojii  (the  eye.) 

r  OOt, 

Koingal, 

Esseh,  from  seh,  to  stumble. 

lev  t/1  , 

Hakua, 

Iba. 

l-J  i  y-v  ry*  /}  t» 

r  nigei, 

Kole, 

Ika,  from  ka,  to  bend. 

Kite, 

Ina,  from  na,  to  extend. 

Fish, 

Liko, 

Ejja,  from  ja,  to  jerk. 

*  og, 

Shamaga, 

Ikuku. 

J?  OOU, 

Nafa, 

Onjeh,  from  jeh,  to  eat. 

i1  rieiiQ, 

Higo, 

Orreh,  from  reh,  to  be  friendly. 

Fruit, 

Biku, 

Eso,  from  so,  to  bear. 

Man, 

Gorrukaw, 

Okkonri. 

iViclIllvl  11 U, 

Adama, 

Enia. 

vv  o hi  an, 

Debbo, 

Obiri. 

uniiQ, 

Bingel, 

Ommoh,  from  mu,  to  suck. 

xvioxner, 

Ina, 

Iya. 

Bow, 

Biroga, 

Orron. 

Arrow, 

Kodarh, 

Offa,  from  fa,  to  draw. 

Sword 

KJ  VV  Ul  Uj 

Lapbi, 

Idah,  from  da,  to  bend. 

Gun, 

Bindegal, 

Ibon. 

Mouth, 

Onuko, 

Ennu. 

Chin, 

Neppi, 

Agbon. 

Tooth, 

Nire, 

Ehin,  from  yin,  to  shoot  out. 

ETHNOLOGICAL  FACTS  AND  TRADITIONS. 


275 


AVW  XT/  )  q/) 
-LJ        LLolL  • 

JL   Lit  Oil. 

\  £\  i*  1 1 7 \  .'i 

Tongue, 

Dengal, 

Ahon. 

Belly, 

Bedu, 

Innu. 

Back, 

Bao, 

Ehhin. 

Sack, 

Zekkare, 

Okkeh. 

Bee, 

Bubi, 

Oyin. 

Bell, 

Jamga, 

Agogo. 

Bird, 

Poll, 

Eiyeh. 

Bone, 

Gierh, 

Egugu. 

Brass, 

Zampdeh, 

Odeh. 

Camel, 

Geoloba, 

Ibakasie. 

Cat, 

Musuru, 

Ologini. 

Cloth, 

Oderreh, 

Ashaw,  from  shaw,  to  adorn. 

Corpse, 

Maide, 

Oku,  from  ku,  to  die. 

Desert, 

Zari, 

Aginju. 

Moon, 

Loru, 

Oshu. 

Sun, 

Nange, 

Orun. 

Water, 

Dian, 

Omi. 

Wood, 

Legga, 

Puloh  verbs  are  varied  to  express  the  tenses,  and  the 
future  is  sometimes  entirely  different  from  the  present, 
probably  another  root ;  but  there  is  no  variation  for 
number  and  person.  A  few  examples  may  serve  to 
shov-  the  nature  of  the  Puloh  verb.  Mi  yani,  I  fall ;  o 
yani,  he  falls  ;  mi  aha,  I  will  fall ;  mi  dili,  I  go  ;  mi  hoti, 
I  will  go  ;  dilugo,  to  go.  Present  tense,  kori,  carry ; 
future,  hora;  imperative,  horu;  infinitive,  horugo.  The 
infinitive  generally  ends  in  go,  but  not  always. 


276 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PHYSICAL,  INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 
SUDANESE. 

TYPICAL  NEGROES  —  MULATTOES  —  ORIGINAL  SEATS  OF  THE  NEGROES  — 
THEIR  MIGRATIONS  IN  SUDAN  —  WHITE  IMMIGRANTS  TO  AFRICA  —  EF- 
FECTS OF  CLIMATE  —  PERMANENCE  OF  MULATTO  RACES  —  BLACK  MEN 
WITH  EUROPEAN  FEATURES  —  ACTIVITY  OF  NEGROES  —  INTELLECT  — 
LANGUAGE — LAWS  —  RELIGION — COMMON  SENSE  —  INVENTIVE  FACULTY 
SCIENCE  —  MUSIC  —  LETTERS  —  POETRY  —  KINDNESS  —  INDUSTRY  — 
COMMERCE  NEEDED  —  IMMODESTY  —  COVETOUSNESS  —  PROVERBS. 

The  people  of  Central  Africa  are  of  three  classes, 
typical  negroes,  mulattoes,  and  black  men  with  a  Euro- 
pean cast  of  countenance.  Eastern  and  Southern  Africa 
afford  other  varieties,  as  the  Gallas,  Caffers,  Hottentots, 
etc.,  of  whom  it  does  not  concern  us  at  present  to 
speak. 

1.  The  true  or  typical  negro,  as  every  one  knows,  is 
distinguished  by  his  low  organism.  His  jaws  are  prog- 
nathous or  monkey-shaped,  his  forehead  retreating,  his 
face  larger  than  his  hairy  scalp,  his  feet  broad  and  flat, 
his  heels  long,  and  his  legs  almost  without  calves.  He 
is  athletic,  has  a  strong  but  harsh  voice,  is  more  capa- 
ble of  enduring  fatigue  and  exposure  to  heat  and 
moisture  than  other  men,  is  more  easily  affected  by  cer- 
tain drugs,  and  yet  suffers  less  pain  from  blows,  wounds, 
or  surgical  operations  than  others.     His  intellect,  and 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  SUDAN. 


277 


especially  his  reasoning  faculties  are  weak,  his  moral 
perceptions  low,  and  his  animal  feelings  strong.  He 
appears  to  be  a  stranger  to  modesty,  doing  and  allow- 
ing things  with  brutal  apathy,  which  other  races  can  not 
tolerate.  I  doubt  whether  any  negro  of  this  class  has 
ever  felt  disgust,  or  ever  will.  They  are  naturally  in- 
capable of  refined  feelings.  This  class  is  not  confined 
to  Guinea,  but  they  are  numerous  in  some  of  the  finest 
districts  of  Sudan,  where  they  are  more  degraded  than 
they  are  on  the  sea  coast,  because  the  latter  have  been 
improved  by  intercourse  with  the  whites. 

2.  Many  of  the  Pulohs,  and  some  other  interior  tribes, 
and  a  few  of  the  Yorubas,  Eboes,  Nufes,  Hausas,  Kan- 
ikes,  Mandingoes  and  Kroomen,  are  mulattoes,  the 
descendants  of  typical  negroes  and  white  men.  This  is 
proved  by  several  facts.  1.  Their  color  varies  from 
dark  to  very  bright.  Some  of  the  Pulohs  can  not  have 
more  than  one  eighth  of  negro  blood,  if  we  judge  by 
their  color.  2.  Their  hair,  though  woolly,  is  long  and 
bushy  like  that  of  other  mulattoes.  I  have  seen  one 
woman,  nearly  black,  with  soft  silky  hair.  Some  have 
a  sandy  tint  of  beard  and  hair,  as  if  their  ancestors 
were  red-headed.  I  have  seen  one  with  bright  blue 
eyes.  Lander  saw  one  on  the  Niger.  3.  Their  features, 
noses,  lips,  skull,  etc.,  are  cast  more  or  less  in  the  Eu- 
ropean mould.  Their  hands  and  feet  are  frequently 
small  and  elegantly  formed.  4.  The  language  of  the 
Pulohs,  of  which  I  have  collected  about  three  hundred 
phrases,  containing  one  thousand  words  or  more,  is  not 
African  or  Shemitic.  5.  The  Pulohs  affirm  that  their 
ancestors  were  white.  6.  And  finally,  we  have  evidence 
worthy  of  more  or  less  confidence,  that  the  white  and 


278 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


negro  races  have  repeatedly  come  in  contact  under  cir- 
cumstances, which  must  have  resulted  in  amalgamation. 
On  this  point  I  may  be  permitted  to  enlarge  by  briefly 
alluding  to  facts. 

In  the  first  place,  I,  at  least,  see  no  reason  to  doubt 
the  correctness  of  the  opinion  that  the  negroes  origin- 
ated in  Northern  India,  or  beyond  it,  whence  they  were 
dispersed  by  three  emigrations.  One  branch  of  the  race 
moved  eastward,  and  retired  before  other  tribes  till  they 
became  the  Ainoes  or  hairy  blacks  of  the  eastern  coast 
of  Asia.  Another  branch  entered  Southern  India  as 
conquerors — the  monkey  conquerors  of  mythology — 
whence  perhaps  the  monkey  worship  of  India  and  Africa. 
Buddha  is  represented,  and  perhaps  correctly,  as  a  ne- 
gro, and  the  existence  of  his  religion  certainly  ante- 
dates the  era  sometimes  assigned  to  the  warrior  demi- 
god. This  branch  of  the  negro  race  finally  pushed  on 
to  the  Indian  Archipelago,  to  the  Pacific  Islands,  and 
even  to  the  western  coast  of  America.  The  third  stream 
of  migration  flowed  to  the  south-west,  and  passed  over 
into  Africa.  The  name  Ethiopia,  like  the  black  race, 
was  migratory,  and  passed  from  Asia  to  Arabia  and 
thence  to  the  African  continent.  Now,  if  this  view  of 
the  case  be  in  the  main  correct,  we  can  not  doubt  that 
negroes  were  intermixed  with  whites  long  before  they 
entered  Africa,  and  that  mulatto  races  may  have  exist- 
ed in  Sudan  ever  since  it  was  peopled. 

I  have  already  noticed  the  migration  of  the  Psulloi, 
and  Bello's  account — perhaps  a  correct  one — of  a  Coptic 
colony  in  Burnu.  Who  can  say  how  many  such  emi- 
grations may  have  taken  place  from  Northern  Africa  ? 
The  usually  tall  and  handsome  Mandingo  race  are  a 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  SUDAN. 


279 


mixed  people.  The  Saracens  overran  Sudan  in  the 
tenth  century,  and  some  of  the  tribes  on  the  southern 
borders  of  the  desert  are  still  pure  white  men,  as  pre- 
viously stated.  In  view  of  all  these  facts,  it  cannot  be 
unreasonable  to  believe  that  the  red  people  of  Africa 
are  in  fact  mulattoes. 

Here  we  may  step  aside  to  make  two  remarks.  First, 
that  the  burning  sun  and  dry  air  of  the  desert  have  not 
changed  the  color  or  the  features  of  the  whites,  who 
have  been  there  for  three  or  four  thousand  years.  Their 
children  are  still  as  white  as  any  in  the  world.  Second- 
ly, the  mulatto  Pulohs  must  have  been  mulattoes  many 
centuries  ago,  and  they  have  intermarried  among  them- 
selves, "  hybrids  with  hybrids,"  all  the  time  ;  otherwise 
many  of  them  could  not  still  remain  as  bright-colored 
as  quadroons  or  even  brighter.  But  the  Pulohs  are 
physically  and  mentally  a  fine  race.  They  show  no 
symptoms  of  dying  out. 

3.  The  third  of  the  classes  above  mentioned,  are  black 
people  with  European  features.  Some  of  them  have  a 
fine  intelligent  Grecian  cast  of  countenance.  Others 
present  every  degree  of  approximation  to  the  typical 
negro.  At  Ilorrin  I  saw  a  few  robust,  handsome, 
heavily  bearded  men,  who  are  called  "Bature  Dudu," 
black  white  men.  They  differ  from  the  Grecian-faced 
men  just  mentioned,  in  being  every  way  more  manly  in 
appearance,  and  they  bear  the  reputation  of  being  more 
learned  than  any  other  men  in  the  country.  One  of 
them,  a  most  noble  looking  man,  "  black  but  comely," 
is  the  chief  alufa  or  doctor  of  divinity  in  Ilorrin.  The 
home  of  these  men  appears  to  have  been  in  Eastern 
Yoruba  from  time  immemorial,  though  they  are  evident- 


280 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ly  and  reputedly  another  race.  I  suppose  that  all  class- 
es of  these  black  men  with  European  features  are  the 
descendants  of  mulattoes  and  negroes,  retaining  the 
features  of  the  former  and  the  skin  of  the  latter.  A 
vast  majority  of  negroes  both  in  Guinea  and  Sudan  be- 
long to  this  class.  In  Sudan  the  mulatto  people  are 
numerous,  amounting,  I  suppose,  to  ten  or  twenty  mil- 
lions. The  true  or  typical  negroes  are  the  least  nu- 
merous class  of  the  three,  even  if  we  include  all  the 
most  degraded  nations  of  Guinea. 

Whether  it  be  the  result  of  climate,  or  diet,  or  other 
causes,  the  Africans  of  all  classes  are  a  healthy  and 
hardy  race.  The  boys  are  unusually  active.  In  the 
towns  of  Yoruba  I  have  frequently  seen  groups  of  boys 
throwing  summersets  in  the  streets  for  their  own  amuse- 
ment. The  Nufe  people  are  reputed  to  be  the  swiftest 
runners  in  Sudan,  and  they  are  the  only  tribe  who  un- 
derstand boxing.  It  is  said  that  one  Nufe  will  whip 
four  or  five  Yorubas  if  they  do  not  close  in  and  throw 
him. 

It  is  not  easy,  if  possible,  to  ascertain  a  people's  men- 
tal powers  before  they  have  been  developed  by  exercise 
and  exhibited  in  the  various  pursuits  of  civilized  life. 
The  Yorubas,  Pulohs,  etc.,  frequently  have  a  good  brain 
and  temperament,  in  some  cases  decidedly  fine.  Very 
often  the  reflective  faculties  are  equal  to  the  perceptive, 
or  superior.  The  Yoruba  language  is  remarkably  rich 
in  abstract  terms.  To  give  one  example  :  the  various 
relations  commonly  expressed  by  prepositions,  have 
names  in  Yoruba,  as  abbe,  the  beneath,  oke,  the  above, 
inu,  the  within,  etc.,  whence  the  prepositions  labbe,  under, 
Me,  above,  nvmi  in.   Very  often  there  is  both  an  abstract 


INTELLECT. 


281 


and  a  concrete  noun  from  the  same  verbal  root.  The 
existence  and  constant  use  of  terms  for  the  expression 
of  thought,  are  certainly  good  evidence  that  the  people 
think.  The  Yoruba  language  affords  all  the  terms  neces- 
sary for  a  full  and  clear  declaration  of  the  Gospel,  as 
for  instance  a  word  for  God,  angel,  heaven,  hell,  sin,  guilt, 
atonement,  mediation,  repentance,  faith,  pardon,  justi- 
fication, sanctification,  both  objective  and  subjective,  a 
distinct  word  for  each,  adoption,  salvation,  perdition, 
etc.  The  reason  why  they  pay  such  deep  attention  to 
preaching  as  constantly  reported  by  the  missionaries,  is 
that  they  understand  what  the  Gospel  teaches. 

There  are  various  other  indications  of  the  fact  that 
the  people  are  not  deficient  in  intellect.  One  of  these 
we  find  in  their  government  and  laws.  The  highest 
excellence  of  the  best  governments  among  white  people 
consists  in  constitutional  checks  or  limits  to  prevent 
abuses  of  power.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  Central 
Africans  had  studied  out  this  balance  of  power  and  re- 
duced it  to  practice,  long  before  our  fathers  settled  in 
America — before  the  barons  of  England  had  extorted 
the  great  charter  from  King  John.  The  pure  and  cor- 
rect theism,  which  rises  far  above  the  superstitions  of 
the  people,  is  another  proof  of  their  mental  soundness. 
Even  their  idolatry,  while  it  is  substantially  the  same 
as  that  of  Assyria,  Greece  and  Rome,  has  not  been 
loaded  with  such  puerile  fancies  and  debasing  dogmas 
as  were  common  at  Corinth  and  Athens.  These  points 
will  be  further  noticed  under  the  heads  of  government 
and  religion. 

.No  one  can  live  among  the  people  and  speak  their 
language  without  being  convinced  that  they  have  a  good 


282 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


share  of  sober  common  sense.  They  are  shrewd  observ- 
ers of  character  and  motives.  I  have  frequently  been 
surprised  at  the  readiness  with  which  they  form  correct 
notions  of  the  missionaries  who  go  into  their  country. 
All  of  us  would  be  surprised  if  we  knew  what  they  think 
and  say  of  us. 

In  other  respects,  they  are  greatly  deficient,  and  some- 
times even  stupid.  Notwithstanding  the  various  heredi- 
tary little  arts  which  they  practice,  I  am  ready  to  doubt 
whether  they  have  made  a  single  invention  in  a  thousand 
years.  They  have  never  thought  of  a  plough,  though 
their  manner  of  cultivating  the  soil  requires  it  to  be  well 
and  deeply  stirred.  Sometimes  their  farms  are  ten  or 
even  twenty  miles  from  town,  yet  they  bring  in  their 
crops  in  baskets  on  their  heads,  and  have  never  dreamed 
of  such  a  thing  as  a  cart,  or  even  a  slide  or  sledge.  I 
have  frequently  seen  cripples,  but  no  one  could  invent  a 
crutch.  A  pair  which  I  had  made  for  one  of  my  boys,  who 
was  accidently  crippled,  filled  them  with  astonishment 
Chairs,  tables,  bedsteads  and  the  like  were  regarded 
with  equal  wonder. 

They  are  almost  as  destitute  of  science  as  the  Hotten- 
tots, having  no  weights  or  uniform  measures,  and  in 
short,  nothing  pertaining  to  science  of  any  kind.  The 
Yorubas  count  days  by  fives,  (from  the  five  fingers  ?) 
and  have  no  names  for  days.  The  Pulohs,  &c,  count  by 
sevens,  and  have  a  name  for  each  day  in  the  week.  The 
¥orubas  lay  the  ghosts  of  their  dead  seven  clays  after 
death,  which  appears  to  be  the  only  allusion  to  the 
seven  days  of  the  week  with  which  they  are  acquainted. 
None  of  them  can  tell  their  age,  but  the  Pulohs  and 
others  often  can.    The  Yoruba  astronomy  extends  to 


INTELLECT. 


283 


one  name,  the  dogstar,  which  with  them  is  Venus.  They 
measure  months  by  the  moon,  and  years  from  one  rainy 
season  to  another.  Their  new  year,  however,  determined 
by  their  religious  festivals,  occurs  in  September  or  Oc- 
tober. They  believe  the  earth  to  be  a  circle,  with  the 
land  in  the  centre,  bounded  by  water.  The  Yorubas  are 
exceedingly  expert  in  multiplying  and  adding  by  the 
head,  which  arises  from  their  constant  use  of  cowries, 
in  buying  and  selling.  They  and  the  negroes  generally, 
display  no  talent  for  music,  their  best  tunes  being  simi- 
lar to  the  "  corn  songs  "  of  the  negroes  in  America.  Their 
instruments  are  chiefly  drums  of  various  patterns,  which 
they  beat  in  excellent  measure,  so  far  as  regards  time. 
The  Pulohs,  on  the  contrary,  compose  and  sing  fine  bold 
airs,  which  would  be  counted  beautiful  in  any  country. 
I  was  surprised  to  find  the  Puloh  music  totally  different 
from  the  sad  melodies  of  the  Arabs.  But  in  fact  they 
are  not  Arabic,  in  any  thing.  Their  guitar,  or  properly 
banjo,  is  a  rude  and  primitive  sweet-toned  instrument  of 
three  strings,  with  the  bass  on  the  wrong  side. 

None  of  the  negro  nations  and  in  fact,  none  of  the 
white  tribes  in  Africa,  as  the  Azbens,  Tuarics,  Tibboos, 
Moors,  &c,  have  ever  invented  an  alphabet  for  their 
language,  if  we  except  the  late  syllabic  alphabet  of  the 
Vies.  The  Moors  now  speak  and  write  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage. The  remaining  tribes,  white  and  black,  write 
Arabic  if  they  write  at  all.  There  are  thousands  of 
Pulohs,  Mandingoes,  and  other  negroes,  who  write  Ara- 
bic, and  their  penmanship  is  often  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful, surpassing  any  printed  page,  but  they  never  write 
their  own  language  in  Arabic  characters.  Indeed  tney 
could  not  do  it,  for  the  Arabic  language  has  properly  no 


284 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


letters  out  consonants,  and  the  African  languages 
abound  in  vowels. 

Some  of  the  Central  Africans  compose  spirited  verses, 
on  war,  love,  natural  phenomena,  &c.  The  Hausas  have 
a  song  beginning  with,  "  Wheat  grows  on  the  hill,  God 
gives  it  water,"  which  strikes  me  as  true  poetry.  The 
Yorubas  scarcely  attempt  poetry,  though  they  have  their 
little  songs.  When  I  was  refused  admittance  into  Awaye, 
the  women  were  soon  singing  about  it,  the  first  line  of 
their  song  being,  "The  white  man  camped  at  the  root  of 
the  tree."  Some  of  the  native  stories  display  a  good 
degree  of  fancy,  often  wild  enough,  as  in  the  story  of  a 
murdered  girl,  who  was  changed  into  a  mushroom,  and 
another  of  a  haughty  belle,  who  was  metamorphosed 
into  the  bush  called  bufe.  They  deal  much  in  proverbs, 
and  those  of  the  Yorubas  are  among  the  most  remarka- 
able  proverbs  in  the  world. 

When  a  man  who  is  really  acquainted  with  the  Yor- 
uba  people  reviews  their  moral  character,  he  finds 
much  to  admire  and  much  to  condemn — strong  virtues 
and  strong  vices.  A  transient  visitor  or  a  careless  ob- 
server, might  make  them  out  an  exceedingly  good  or 
an  exceedingly  bad  people,  by  seizing  on  one  half  of 
the  facts  and  overlooking  the  other.  Among  their  good 
traits,  we  may  notice  first,  their  natural  kindness  and 
gentleness.  There  is  little  cruelty  and  little  bloodshed 
among  themselves.  They  are  uniformly  polite  and 
courteous,  fond  of  friendship,  visits  and  conversation, 
and  strongly  attached  to  their  country,  countrymen  and 
kindred.  With  very  few  exceptional  variations,  they 
have  treated  all  the  missionaries  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness.   Even  in  those  cases  where  they  shut  their  gates 


MORAL  CHARACTER. 


285 


against  me,  and  in  some  cases  where  they  feared  me  as 
a  spy,  or  as  an  evil  genius,  they  never  showed  any  dis- 
position to  treat  me  with  violence.  I  feel  as  safe  in 
person  and  property  at  Ijaye  or  Ogbomoshaw,  as  in 
Georgia.  They  are  not  treacherous  ;  I  never  doubt 
their  word  when  they  have  made  a  promise.  They  are 
not  revengeful  or  unforgiving,  but  can  fight  and  forget 
the  quarrel  almost  as  readily  as  children.  They  have 
several  words  for  honor,  and  more  proverbs  against  in- 
gratitude than  perhaps  any  other  people. 

The  Yorubas  and  other  tribes  of  Central  Africa,  are 
far  from  being  a  lazy  people.  In  the  farming  season, 
they  are  always  up  and  off  to  their  work  by  daylight 
Their  daily  markets  are  well  stocked  with  all  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  Weavers  and  some  others  who  work 
within  doors,  are  seldom  idle,  but  farmers  usually  rest 
in  the  heat  of  the  day.  In  the  dry  season,  when  there 
is  little  farm  work,  we  can  hire  any  number  of  people 
to  labor  for  reduced  wages,  and  we  can  employ  them  to 
carry  our  loads  from  station  to  station  on  very  moderate 
terms.  It  is  true,  that  there  are  many  days  in  the  3^ear 
when  the  people  are  comparatively  idle,  but  this  is  not 
from  unwillingness  to  labor.  If  they  had  a  profitable 
market  there  would  be  more  demand  for  labor,  and  more 
would  be  performed,  but  we  can  not  expect  men  who 
have  plenty  of  food,  &c,  to  perform  extra  labor,  in  pro- 
ducing extra  supplies  which  they  can  neither  use  nor  sell. 
If  direct  trade  were  opened  with  Sudan,  every  man  in 
the  whole  country  would  soon  be  in  motion  trying  to 
make  something  which  he  could  sell,  to  enable  him  to 
buy  something.  Of  this  fact  I  have  been  more  and 
more  convinced  the  longer  I  have  remained  in  the 


236 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


country.  Then  with  an  increased  demand  for  labor,  I 
would  advocate  the  introduction  of  ploughs  and  other 
improvements.  But  now,  when  there  is  no  market  for 
produce,  I  would  strenuously  oppose  every  labor  saving 
expedient,  because  a  diminution  of  labor  would  increase 
idleness  and  its  consequences,  vice  and  degradation. 

Another  virtue  of  these  people  is  a  reverential  regard 
for  their  parents  and  rulers,  for  the  aged,  and  in  fact 
for  all  superiors.  This  makes  them  easily  governed  and 
disposes  them  to  receive  instruction.  They  are  natur- 
ally simple  hearted,  teachable  and  free  from  high  esti- 
mates of  themselves. 

Finally,  there  is  generally  a  strong  current  of  public 
opinion  against  vice,  and  in  favor  of  executing  the  laws. 
Hence  they  are  remarkably  free  from  adultery  and  theft, 
which  we  might  presuppose  would  be  very  common. 
Although  the  women  do  not  marry  till  they  are  eighteen 
or  twenty  years  of  age,  I  have  never  known  a  case  of 
an  illegitimate  child.  The  law  and  public  opinion  are 
too  strongly  set  in  favor  of  virtue  to  allow  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  such  things  in  Central  Africa.  It  is  very 
remarkable,  that  although  there  have  been  thousands 
of  loads  of  goods  and  cowries  for  the  missionaries,  de- 
livered to  native  carriers,  to  be  conveyed  from  the 
coast  to  Abbeokuta,  Ijaye,  Ibadan,  and  other  places, 
within  the  last  ten  years,  yet  scarcely  one  load  has 
been  robbed  or  stolen. 

But  now  we  turn  to  the  other  side  of  the  question. 
The  great  defect  of  negroes  is  want  of  conscience.  They 
believe  in  God,  but  have  little  notion  of  that  justice 
which  is  revealed  as  a  flaming  fire  against  all  manner 
of  sin  and  transgression.    They  fear  the  penalties  inflict- 


MORAL  CHARACTER. 


287 


ed  on  offenders  by  the  laws  of  their  country  ;  they  can 
not  expose  their  good  name  to  the  withering  condemna- 
tion of  public  opinion,  but  I  have  seldom  seen  among 
them  that  high  and  conscientious  regard  for  honor  which 
we  regard  as  indispensable  to  an  honorable  character. 
This  want  of  conscience  is  manifest  in  all  the  ten  thou- 
sand details  of  every-day  life,  and  generally  impairs  the 
Christian  character  of  converts. 

They  are  almost,  and  in  some  things,  altogether  desti- 
tute of  modesty.  I  have  spoken  of  nude  figures  in 
another  place.  Although  females  wear  three  wrappers, 
two  from  the  waist  downward,  and  one  over  the  shoul- 
ders, which  might  conceal  the  whole  body,  the  upper  one 
is  thrown  off  at  will,  without  exciting  either  thought  or 
attention.  As  before  said,  the  negro  is  incapable  of 
feeling  disgust.  Immodesty,  however,  visibly  decreases 
as  we  recede  from  the  coast,  till  we  arrive  at  Ilorrin, ' 
where  the  Pulohs  exhibit  some  degree  of  refined  feeling. 
Puloh  women  wear  the  upper  wrapper. 

I  am  not  sure  that  the  negroes  are  more  covetous  than 
other  people,  though  they  are  less  careful  to  hide  the 
love  of  dishonest  gain.  If  they  swindle  and  lie,  there  are 
thousands  in  our  own  country  who  are  guilty  of  the  same 
practices.  If  fair  dealing  is  one  of  the  last  things  learn- 
ed by  the  converts  in  the  missions,  honesty,  both  in 
every  day  life,  and  in  religious  controversies,  is  one  of 
the  rarer  virtues  among  too  many  members  and  teachers 
in  the  churches  of  civilized  countries.  It  has  not  been 
many  years  since  a  noble  bishop  declared  that  "  he  knew 
nothing  of  moral  obligation,"  in  the  use  of  certain  reve- 
nues of  the  church.  Custom  was  his  authority  for  trans- 
actions which  appeared  to  some  members  of  Parliament 


288 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


and  to  many  Englishmen  like  swindling,  and  custom  is 
the  plea  of  the  African  when  he  cheats  you  in  buying 
and  selling.  He  will  not  steal,  for  that  is  disreputable, 
but  he  will  defraud  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  and  he 
will  beg  (from  a  white  man)  till  you  despise  him,  for 
these  things  are  not  branded  with  infamy  by  the  public 
opinion  of  his  country. 

The  numerous  proverbs  of  the  Yorubas  are  generally 
brief,  clear  and  pointed,  and  sometimes  highly  poetical. 
Bishop  Yidal,  following  out  a  hint  of  Mr.  Venn,  has  dis- 
covered that  they  exhibit  several  kinds  of  parallelism, 
whence  he  thinks  they  are  entitled  to  be  considered  true 
poetry.*  We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  this 
parallelism  was  studied  or  purposely  employed  by  the 
makers  of  the  Yoruba  proverbs.  I  presume  that  even 
David  had  no  definite  idea  of  the  parallelisms  which  have 
been  discovered  in  his  psalms.  They  arose  sponta- 
neously, like  figures  of  speech,  in  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  the  human  mind.  Shall  we  suppose  that  Paul  de- 
liberately framed  parallelisms  in  certain  passages  of 
his  epistles  ?  or  that  the  illiterate  Christian  in  our  own 
country  is  aware  of  it,  when  he  utters  them  in  his  im- 
passioned prayers  ?  The  various  poetical  features  of 
the  Yoruba  proverbs  are  as  free  from  art  as  the  warbl- 
ings  of  a  bird. 

Some  of  these  proverbs,  or  proverbial  sayings,  are 
merely  a  play  upon  words,  others  are  sprightly  descrip- 
tions of  natural  phenomena  and  the  like,  but  in  general 
they  are  designed  to  convey  moral  truth.  They  consti 
tute,  in  fact,  the  moral  science  of  the  nation,  and  being 


*  Introduction  to  Crowther's  Grammar. 


YORUBA  PROVERBS. 


289 


widely  known  and  often  quoted,  have  doubtless  bad  a 
powerful  effect  in  forming  and  preserving  the  character 
of  the  people. 

I  subjoin  a  number  of  these  proverbs,  as  examples  : — 

"  He  that  injures  another  injures  himself." 
"  He  who  forgives  is  victor  in  the  dispute." 
"  We  should  not  treat  others  with  contempt." 
"  An  inmate  that  can  not  be  tamed."    Said  of  fire. 
"The  sword  does  not  know  the  head  of  the  blacksmith  " — (who 
made  it. ) 

"  When  the  day  dawns  the  trader  takes  his  goods, 
The  spinner  takes  her  distaff,  the  soldier  takes  his  shield, 
The  weaver  bends  over  his  loom, 
The  former  awakes,  he  and  his  hoe, 
The  hunter  awakes,  with  his  quiver  and  bow."* 

"  Ojo  pa,  batta,  batta;  batta,  batta, 
Lori  apatta,  lode  ajalubatta, 
Bata  li  iggi,  batta  li  awoh." 

TRANSLATION. 

"  The  rain  beats  patter,  patter,  patter,  patter, 
On  the  rock  in  the  drummer's  yard, 
The  drum  is  wood,  the  shoe  is  hide." 

This,  and  various  other  proverbial  sayings  of  the  same 
nature,  are  a  play  upon  words,  not  easily  repeated  with 
rapidity  without  a  mistake.    I  give  another  specimen : 

"  Ogidigbo  pari  ilu  gbogbo, 
Bi  owe  li  alu  ogidigbo, 
Enni  ti  o  ye  ni  ijo : 

Jbo,  Ajagbo,  gbo, 
Obba  gbo  ;  ki  emi  k,  6  si  gbo." 


*  This  translation  is  literal.    In  many  cases  a  literal  translation  is 
impossible,  owing  to  the  great  brevity  with  which  thoughts  may  be 
expressed  in  the  Yoruba  language. 
13 


290 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


TRANSLATION. 

"  The  ogidigbo  surpasses  all  drums, 
The  sound  of  the  ogidigbo  has  a  meaning, 
Whoever  understands  it  will  dance  : 

Grow  old,  Ajagbo,  grow  old. 
O !  king,  grow  old ;  may  I  also  grow  old." 

Ajagbo  was  a  king  of  Yoruba,  who  lived  to  a  great 
age,  and  waged  many  successful  wrars. 

Crowther's  vocabulary  contains  many  proverbs,  which 
may  depended  on  as  genuine,  as  the  author  is  a  native. 
I  will  select  a  number  at  random,  and  translate  them  as 
literally  as  convenient. 

"  A  mischief-maker  will  not  do  to  tell  secrets  to." 
"  Smacking  the  lips  precedes  weeping ; 
Mortification  follows  a  difficulty. 
If  the  whole  assembly  of  the  town  convene. 
They  find  no  sacrifice  to  make  against  sorrow." 
"  The  marsh  (abata)  stands  aloof,  as  if  it  were  not  akin  to  the 
brook."    Said  of  proud  people.    The  "  abata"  is  a  little  wet 
place  in  a  dry  prairie. 
"  The  stocks  never  embrace  the  legs,  except  of  him  that  does 
evil." 

"The  thread  follows  the  path  of  the  needle;  "  i.  e.,  people  seldom 
act  independently. 

"  Let  it  be  as  you  please ;  we  should  never  laugh  at  the  invalid  : 
perhaps  the  disease  that  afflicts  him  to-day  may  afflict  you  to- 
morrow. 

"  When  the  farmer  ties  up  bundles  of  corn  he  rejoices;  by  bundles 

of  corn  come  bundles  of  money." 
"  Patching  makes  a  garment  last  well ;  he  who  neglects  patching, 

will  find  himself  bereaved  of  clothing."    Applied  to  economy 

iu  general. 

*  There  is  no  market  in  which  the  plump-breasted  dove  (i.  e.  the 
cowry)  has  not  traded.' ' 


yOBUBA  PROVERBS. 


291 


"  As  the  message  is  sent,  so  deliver  it ;  if  you  vary  it,  the  sin  is 
your  own." 

"  Though  many  guests  be  absent,  it  is  the  cheerful  man  we  miss." 

"  He  who  harasses  one,  teaches  him  strength." 

"  We  awake  and  find  our  hands  marked  (with  black  stripes), 

We  do  not  know  who  marked  them ; 

We  awake  and  find  an  old  debt, 

We  do  not  know  who  contracted  it." 

(Children  are  obliged  to  pay  the  debts  of  their  deceas- 
ed parents,  and  hence  this  proverb.) 

"  A  needle  falls  from  a  leper's  hand  (which  is  mutilated), 
It  requires  consideration  (how  to  pick  it  up) ; 
A  difficulty  comes  on  the  land, 
It  requires  meditation."    (A  literal  translation.) 
"  The  pig  has  wallowed  in  the  mire, 
He  is  seeking  a  clean  person  to  rub  against."    Said  of  disgraced 
persons  who  wish  to  keep  good  company. 
"  Open  the  cask  of  rum,  open  the  cask  of  powder  (if  yours) ; 
The  carrier  opens  the  cask."    The  fidelity  of  Yoruba  carriers 
in  this  respect  is  almost  incredible. 
"  A  strong  man  without  economy  is  the  father  of  laziness." 
"  Help  to  the  end,  is  the  help  we  must  give  to  a  lazy  man." 
"  A  bribe  puts  the  judge's  eyes  out,  for  a  bribe  never  speaks  the 
truth." 

"  If  clothes  remain  long  in  the  bog  they  rot ; "  i.  e.,  do  not  neglect 
your  business. 

"  One  lock  does  not  know  the  inside  of  another; "  i.  e.  we  do  not 

know  people's  hearts. 
"  If  we  draw  water  and  spill  it,  if  the  calabash  is  not  broken,  we 

can  draw  more."    A  man  can  repair  his  losses. 
"The  squash  saves  them  (from  starvation).   They  cut  it  for  a 

water  gourd  (after  it  grows  hard)."    Said  of  ungrateful 

people. 

"  We  find  guests  like  the  lower  jaw,  if  you  die  in  the  morning  it 

falls  off  in  the  evening." 
"  I  know  it  perfectly  prevents  the  wasp  from  learning  to  make 

honey.*' 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


A  stubborn  man  gets  into  trouble,  a  pliable  man  is  imposed  on." 
Every  part  of  the  butterfly  praises  God  (by  its  beauty),  and  yet 

how  frail  it  is  !  " 
If  thirst  would  kill  the  lizard  to-day  or  to-morrow,  there  will  be 

rain.'7 

A  dog  with  a  man  behind  him  will  kill  a  baboon.' ' 

Jerk  it !  shake  it !  who  shakes  a  tree  shakes  himself." 

There  is  noise  in  the  grave  (made  by  the  diggers)  ;  the  vaulted 

tomb  frightens  old  men." 
The  partridge  (seeing  a  eloth  snare)  cried,  Why  did  the  farmer 

bring  his  cloth  here  ?   The  farmer  replied,  How  could  I  come 

to  the  farm  without  my  cloth  (or  wrapper)  ? " 
I  am  starving  !  cried  the  rabbit  in  the  field ;  I  am  a  spendthrift ! 

cried  the  partridge  on  the  corn  stack." 
A  witch,  child  of  envy ;  she  kills,  but  can't  inherit." 
The  loaf  is  the  father  of  bread  ;  he  that  eats  loaf  does  not  know 

there  is  a  famine." 
A  scorpion  stings  with  his  tail,  a  saucy  servant  with  his  eye." 
He  fled  from  the  sword  and  hid  in  the  scabbard." 
The  butcher  never  inquires  what  breed. ' ' 

'  The  executioner  never  lets  the  sword  come  upon  his  own  neck." 
Don't  hang  your  troubles  on  my  neck !  was  the  quarrel  between 

the  warping-pin  and  the  thread." 
The  doer  of  a  secret  sin  supposes  it  is  him  they  are  talking 

about." 

The  whisperer  looks  suspiciously  at  the  bush ;  the  bush  tells  no 
tales.    He  that  you  speak  to  is  the  betrayer." 

He  speaks  of  others'  sins,  and  covers  his  own  with  a  potsherd." 

Another's  eye  is  not  like  our  own ;  a  faithful  agent  is  hard  to 
find. 

He  who  claps  for  a  fool  to  dance  is  no  better  than  a  fool." 
A  fool  and  an  idiot  met,  and  said  they,  We  are  friends." 
The  man  who  is  not  thankful  for  a  favor,  will  not  be  insulted  if 
treated  amiss.  *' 

When  a  Mahometan  is  not  hungry,  he  says,  I  never  eat 
monkey." 

It  may  be  long,  but  a  lie  will  be  detected." 
Ashes  fly  in  the  face  of  the  thrower." 


YORUBA  PROVERBS. 


293 


"  As  the  yam- flour  was  once  a  green  yam,  so  the  slave  was  once  a 

child  in  his  father's  house. 
"  Not  keeping  lip  to  lip  brings  trouble  to  the  jaws." 
"  Special  pleading  makes  a  good  cause." 
"  Ear,  hear  the  other  side." 
"  If  the  elephant  may  get  angry  so  may  the  ant." 
"  A  monkey  having  eaten  to  the  full  one  day,  he  said,  Come  pull 

out  my  fore  teeth." 
"  Anger  does  no  one  any  good  ;  patience  is  the  father  of  virtues. 

Anger  draws  arrows  from  the  quiver ;  good  words  draw  kola 

nuts  from  the  bag.' '    The  kola,  or  goorah  nut  is  eaten  together 

as  a  mark  of  friendship. 

The  foregoing  proverbs  are  merely  specimens,  selected 
almost  at  random,  from  a  multitude  of  others.  There  is 
probably  no  sin,  or  virtue,  or  human  relation  which  is 
not  described  and  forbidden,  or  enforced,  by  some  Yoru- 
ba  proverb. 


294 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  YORUBA. 

TOWNS  —  WALLS  —  STREETS  —  MARKETS  —  HOUSES  —  DRESS  —  FOOD  

AMUSEMENTS  DANCING  —  RELIGIOUS  PROCESSIONS  SALUTATIONS   

MARRIAGE  —  POLYGAMY  —  DIVORCE  —  INHERITANCE  —  WIDOWS  — 
CHILDREN  —  BURIAL  GHOSTS  —  OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  FARM- 
ING —  TRAFFIC  —  ARTS  —  TOOLS  —  GLASS  MANUFACTURE. 

All  the  Africans  in  this  region  live  in  towns,  and 
cultivate  the  surrounding  country.  Several  of  the 
Yoruba  towns  are  surprisingly  large  and  populous.  The 
congregating  of  people  into  large  cities  modifies  their 
character  in  various  ways,  and  among  the  rest,  by  giv- 
ing their  barbarism  a  sort  of  polish,  which  we  should 
hardly  expect  to  find  in  the  depths  of  Africa.  It  also 
compels  many  people  to  go  several  miles  to  cultivate 
their  farms,  and  greatly  increases  the  labor  of  gathering 
in  their  crops,  which  of  course  are  brought  into  the  city 
for  use.  By  this  means  they  are  made  more  industrious, 
and  consequently  more  virtuous,  or  in  other  words,  less 
addicted  to  vice,  the  offspring  of  idleness. 

In  consequence  of  frequent  wars,  all  the  towns,  large 
and  small,  are  surrounded  by  clay  walls  about  five  feet 
high,  and  sufficiently  thick  to  be  a  good  defence,  in  a 
country  where  they  are  happily  destitute  of  cannon.  A 
ditch  three  or  four  feet  wide  and  several  feet  deep,  runs 
around  the  town  at  the  outer  foot  of  the  wall.    At  va- 


/ 


towns.  295 

rious  convenient  distances,  the  wall  is  perforated  with 
gates  eight  or  ten  feet  wide,  which  are  closed  at  night 
with  heavy  shutters.  On  the  inner  side  of  the  gate, 
there  is  usually  a  house  which  we  must  pass  through  in 
entering  the  town;  and  here  reside  the  men  who  remain 
at  the  gate  day  and  night,  to  guard  the  entrance  and 
to  take  toll  of  caravans  and  other  traders.  The  walls 
being  made  of  mortar,  which  dries  hard  in  the  sun,  en- 
dure for  a  long  time  with  trifling  annual  repairs  in  the 
dry  season.  An  African  town,  with  its  thousands  of 
low  broad  grass-thatched  houses,  peeping  above  the 
wall  and  sweltering  in  the  torrid  sun,  presents  to  the 
approaching  traveler  a  unique  appearance  which  he 
will  not  easily  forget. 

The  streets  of  the  best  and  largest  cities  are  gene- 
rally very  narrow,  crooked  and  intricate.  You  pass  on 
with  rough  solid  clay  walls  close  by  on  each  side,  and 
the  eaves  of  the  low  thatched  roofs  almost  brushing  you 
in  the  face,  till  at  last,  weary  of  monotony  and  filth,  you 
turn  about  to  retrace  your  steps,  and  discover  that  you 
are  lost  in  a  net  work  of  interminable  alleys.  There  is 
generally,  however,  a  tolerably  broad,  though  seldom 
straight  street,  running  from  each  gate  to  the  market- 
place, and  these  wide  streets,  as  the  market-place  itself, 
are  commonly  shaded  with  beautiful  wide  spreading 
trees. 

African  towns  have  no  public  buildings,  except  shabby 
little  temples  and  oboni  houses,  so  rude  in  appearance 
as  to  attract  no  attention.  Architecture,  monuments, 
&c,  are  unknown.  The  house  of  the  king  differs  from 
others  only  in  size,  and  in  high  sharp  gables  called 
kobbi,  which  are   weather-boarded  with  grass  thatch. 


296 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


The  houses  of  governors  and  other  nobles,  are  in  the 
same  unimposing  style  as  those  of  the  common  people. 

The  most  attractive  object  next  to  the  curious  old 
town  itself — and  it  is  always  old — is  the  market.  This 
is  not  a  building,  but  a  large  area,  shaded  with  trees, 
and  surrounded  and  sometimes  sprinkled  over  with  little 
open  sheds,  consisting  of  a  very  low  thatched  roof 
surmounted  on  rude  posts.  Here  the  women  sit  and 
chat  all  day,  from  early  morn  till  9  o'clock  at  night,  to 
sell  their  various  merchandize.  Some  of  the  sheds,1 
however,  are  occupied  by  barbers,  who  shave  people's 
heads  and  faces,  and  by  leather  dressers,  who  make 
charms  like  Jewish  phylacteries,  and  bridle  reins, 
shoes,  sandals,  &c,  and  by  dozens  or  scores  of  men 
who  earn  an  honest  living  by  dressing  calabashes  and 
ornamenting  them  with  various  neat  engravings. 

The  principal  marketing  hour,  and  the  proper  time  to 
see  all  the  wonders,  is  in  the  evening.  At  half  an  hour 
before  sunset,  all  sorts  of  people,  men,  women,  girls, 
travelers  lately  arrived  in  the  caravans,  farmers  from 
the  fields,  and  artizans  from  their  houses,  are  pouring 
in  from  all  directions  to  buy  and  sell,  and  talk.  At  the 
distance  of  half  a  mile  their  united  voices  roar  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea.  The  women,  especially,  always  noisy, 
are  then  in  their  glory,  bawling  out  salutations,  cheap- 
ening and  higgling,  conversing,  laughing,  and  some- 
times quarreling,  with  a  shrillness  and  compass  of  voice 
which  indicates  both  their  determination  and  their  ability 
to  make  themselves  heard.  As  the  shades  of  evening 
deepen,  if  the  weather  allows  the  market  to  continue, 
and  there  is  no  moon,  every  woman  lights  her  little 
lamp,  and  presently  the  market  presents  to  the  distant 


TOWNS. 


297 


observer,  the  beautiful  appearance  of  innumerable 
bright  stars. 

The  commodities  sold  in  market  are  too  tedious  to 
mention  even  if  all  could  be  remembered.  Besides 
home  productions  there  are  frequently  imported  articles 
from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Various  kinds  of 
meat,  fowls,  sheep,  goats,  dogs,  rats,  tortoises,  eggs, 
fish,  snails,  yams,  Indian  corn,  Guinea  corn,  sweet  po- 
tatoes, sugar  cane,  ground  peas  onions,  pepper,  various 
vegetables,  palm  nuts,  oil,  tree  butter,  seeds,  fruits, 
fire-wood,  cotton  in  the  seed,  spun  cotton,  domestic 
cloth,  imported  cloth,  as  calico,  shirting,  velvets,  etc., 
gunpowder,  guns,  flints,  knives,  swords,  paper,  raw 
silk,  Turkey-red  thread,  beads,  needles,  ready  made 
clothing,  as  trousers,  breeches,  caps^  shirts  without 
sleeves,  baskets,  brooms,  and  no  one  knows  what  all. 

Every  fifth  day  there  is  a  "  large  market,"  when  the 
few  thousand  people  who  attend  daily  are  increased  to 
a  multitude,  and  the  noise  and  glee  are  proportionately 
increased.  The  larger  towns  have  small  markets  near 
to  each  gate  for  the  sale  of  provisions;  and  some  towns, 
as  Ilorrin,  are  so  large  that  there  are  several  markets 
for  the  sale  of  general  commodities.  In  the  afternoon, 
when  only  a  few  hundred  are  sauntering  about,  and  the 
traffic  has  not  fully  set  in,  we  often  go  out  and  preach 
to  the  people  under  the  trees,  and  here  we  meet  with 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  come  to 
remain  in  the  town  a  few  days  or  weeks  to  traffic. 

All  the  houses  in  Yoruba,  etc.,  are  built  of  clay  or 
mortar  and  covered  with  grass  in  the  manner  which  I 
have  described  in  chapter  sixteen.  In  Nufe,  as  also  in 
Futa  as  I  have  heard,  they  sometimes  build  of  sun-dried 
13* 


298 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


bricks.  But  this  plan  is  more  expensive  and  not  so  good 
as  the  solid  clay  walls.  People  from  the  interior  have 
informed  me  that  the  houses  in  Sokoto  are  built  of  mor- 
tar two  stories  high  and  covered  with  canoes,  which 
they  explained  to  be  troughs  open  at  each  end.  First 
a  sufficient  number  of  troughs  are  laid  across  the  build- 
ing side  by  side,  with  their  mouths  up,  and  then  other 
similar  ones  are  turned  mouth  down  upon  these,  so  as 
to  break  joints.  Yoruba  houses  are  only  one  story  high, 
and  that  one  is  so  low  that  the  ceiling  over  head  is  only 
from  six  to  eight  feet  above  the  floor.  The  rooms  are 
from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  long,  and  seven  or  eight  wide, 
without  windows,  and  having  only  one  door,  which  is 
scarcely  four  feet  in  height.  Of  course,  the  room  is  very 
dark.  This,  however,  is  of  little  consequence  since  it 
is  only  used  for  storing — they  have  little  to  store — and 
for  sleeping  when  the  weather  is  too  bad  to  sleep  in  the 
piazza  or  the  yard.  The  house  itself  consists  of  ten, 
twenty,  or  may  be  fifty,  of  such  rooms,  so  disposed  as 
to  enclose  a  quadrangular  court  or  area  which  is  open 
to  the  sky.  The  court  is  entered  from  the  streets  by  a 
single  large  door  or  gate,  and  the  little  doors  of  the 
rooms  open  inward  into  a  piazza  which  runs  entirely 
around  the  court.  The  gate  of  the  house  is  prudently 
furnished  with  charms  or  amulets,  among  which  is 
sometimes  seen  the  curved  or  horseshoe  formed  iron,  and 
which  are  affirmed  to  have  the  power  of  defending  the 
premises  against  the  "  ghaists,  sprites,  and  divils,"  who 
used  to  give  so  much  trouble  to  our  own  forefathers. 
The  interior  court  is  ornamented  with  sundry  large 
earthen  pots,  which  are  the  roosting  places  of  the 
poultry,  and  bristled  over  with  short  stakes  to  which 


DRESS. 


299 


the  women  tie  their  goats  and  sheep  every  evening1. 
Instead  of  chimneys,  there  are  little  fire  places  in  the 
piazza  against  the  wall,  where  the  women  cook  their 
food  in  earthen  pots. 

The  simple  habits  of  the  people  require  little  furniture. 
They  sit  and  sleep  on  mats  spread  on  the  earthen  floor 
of  their  piazzas  and  rooms,  and  they  eat  with  their 
fingers  from  coarse  earthen  plates,  every  one,  like  the 
brethren  of  Joseph,  having  his  own  mess  to  himself,  or 
if  they  are  equal  in  rank,  all  dipping  into  the  dish  to- 
gether. The  women  do  not  eat  from  the  same  dish  with 
the  men.  The  furniture  of  the  rooms  consist  of  earthen 
pots  and  grass  bags  to  hold  clothing,  cowries  and  other 
valuables,  and  perhaps  you  may  see  a  gun  and  shot- 
pouch,  or  more  rarely  those  venerable  weapons,  the 
sword  and  the  bow. 

The  usual  dress  on  the  coast  is  a  breech-cloth  and  a 
wrapper.  In  the  interior,  both  Mahometans  and  heath- 
ens dress  in  a  very  different  manner.  The  men  have 
various  garments,  as  long  trowsers  and  short  breeches, 
of  several  styles,  tunics,  tobes,  or  large  flowing  gowns, 
wrappers,  palm-hats,  cloth  caps,  turbans,  and,  if  not 
barefoot,  sandals,  shoes,  or  moccasins,  with  or  without 
soles,  and  boots.  None  of  their  garments  are  fastened 
by  buttons.  The  trowsers  and  breeches  are  secured 
around  the  loins  by  a  draw-string.  Little  boys  some- 
times wear  nothing  but  an  apron,  but  usually  they  are 
clad  in  breeches  and  tunic,  or  breeches  alone.  The  men, 
except  among  the  Mahometans,  generally  shave  their 
beards  and  heads.  Women  never  wear  frocks  or  tunics, 
but  are  clad  in  three  wrappers,  two  around  the  middle, 
and  one,  often  laid  aside,  thrown  over  the  shoulders. 


300 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Their  head-dress  is  a  piece  of  cloth,  or  handkerchief. 
They  never  shave  their  heads,  except  as  a  mark  of 
mourning  for  the  loss  of  friends. 

Most  of  the  negroes,  and  especially  those  of  the  in- 
terior, are  remarkably  cleanly,  often  washing  their 
clothes,  and  bathing  or  rather  scrubbing  their  bodies 
with  soap  and  water  almost  daily.  Hence  they  seldom 
have  the  odor  which  is  so  disagreeable  in  the  negroes 
of  the  Southern  States.  Both  men  and  women  are  fond 
of  ornaments,  as  rings  on  the  fingers,  toes,  arms  and 
ankles.  The  women  wear  beads  on  their  necks  and 
wrists,  and  girls,  who  often  (in  the  low  country)  appear 
without  clothing,  wear  them  around  their  loins. 

The  usual  articles  of  food  are  the  flesh  of  goats,  sheep, 
fowls,  hogs  and  cows,  and  various  roots  and  grains,  as 
yams,  sweet  potatoes,  tania,  Indian  corn,  millet,  or 
Guinea  corn,  cow  peas,  etc.  They  also  eat  rats  and 
snails,  and  the  meaner  people  feed  on  the  flesh  of 
horses  which  have  died  of  disease.  Fish  are  abund- 
ant in  the  large  streams,  and  dried  fish  from  the  Ogun, 
Niger,  and  other  rivers,  are  commonly  sold  in  the 
markets. 

Their  manner  of  cooking  is  quite  different  from  ours. 
They  bake  nothing,  but  all  their  food  is  boiled  or  fried 
in  earthen  pots.  Various  kinds  of  bread  of  corn  and 
peas  are  fried  in  palm  oil  or  tree-butter.  Sometimes 
they  cook  Indian  corn  in  whole  grains,  like  our  "  big 
hominy/'  but  the  usual  preparation  of  corn  is  the  ek~ 
kaw,  described  in  another  place.  Meat  is  always  cut 
fine  to  be  cooked.  Sometimes  it  is  stewed,  but  it  is 
usually  made  into  palaver  sauce,  which  the  Yorubas  call 
olbeh,  by  stewing  up  a  small  quantity  of  flesh  or  fish 


SOCIAL  INTERCOURSE. 


301 


with  a  large  proportion  of  vegetables,  highly  seasoned 
with  onions  and  red  pepper.  Obbeh,  with  ekkaw  or 
boiled  yam,  pounded  or  unpounded,  is  the  customary 
diet  of  all  classes,  from  the  king  to  the  slave.  They 
take  three  meals  a  day,  breakfast  a  little  after  sunrise, 
dinner  about  twelve,  and  supper  after  dark.  No  people 
are  so  much  in  the  habit  of  eating  in  the  streets,  where 
women  are  always  engaged  in  preparing  all  sorts  of 
dishes  for  sale  to  passers  by.  Their  usual  drink  is  water. 
Tea  and  coffee  are  unknown,  but  hot  ekkaw,  diluted  to 
the  consistence  of  gruel,  is  much  used  as  a  morning 
beverage.  The  women  make  beautiful  malt,  and  pas- 
sably good  beer,  of  Indian  corn  and  millet.  In  many 
parts  of  the  interior,  palm-wine  is  very  scarce  and  highly 
prized.  Rum  seldom  finds  its  way  into  Yoruba,  and 
never  without  being  well  diluted  with  water. 

The  Yorubas  are  eminently  social  in  their  feelings 
and  habits,  fond  of  visiting  each  other,  of  eating  to- 
gether, and  of  sitting  together  of  evenings  under  shady 
trees,  engaged  in  conversation,  or  in  playing  little 
games  for  amusement.  One  of  their  games  is  a  sort  of 
draughts,  in  which  the  men  are  not  caught,  but  checked, 
and  thus  driven  from  the  board,  or  rather  from  the  field, 
for  the  board  is  marked  out  on  the  ground.  The  game 
of  ayo  or  wari  is  played  by  throwing  small  balls  or  seeds 
into  twelve  holes,  six  in  a  row,  in  a  board  or  block  of 
wood.  Gambling,  it  is  said,  is  prohibited  by  law.  The 
boys  amuse  themselves  with  a  sort  of  hulgul,  by  whip- 
ping tops,  and  by  wrestling  and  turning  summersets. 
Young  people  often  amuse  themselves  with  riddles  and 
by  dancing  to  the  sound  of  noisy  drums.  One  of  the 
favorite  dances  is  called  babbika.    There  gestures  are 


302 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


never  improper,  and  never  graceful.  It  would  seem  that 
he  who  can  throw  his  feet,  hands,  head  and  body  about 
in  the  most  awkward  and  grotesque  manner  is  consider- 
ed the  best  dancer. 

All  classes  are  very  fond  of  religious  festivals  and 
processions,  chiefly,  I  think,  for  the  sake  of  amusement. 
The  theatrical  performances  which  Lander  saw  at  Ka- 
tunga,  and  misdescribes,  were  a  religious  ceremony. 
Some  parts  of  their  worship  are  funny  and  clownish 
enough.  The  Mahometan  feast,which  succeeds  their  thirty 
days'  fast,  is  a  great  holiday,  not  only  to  them  but  to 
the  heathens.  They  also  have  torchlight  processions, 
which  afford  them  no  small  amusement.  Our  own 
Christmas,  and  the  saints'  days  of  Catholic  countries, 
celebrated  with  the  firing  of  guns,  gluttony,  drunken- 
ness and  debauchery,  are  only  remnants  of  European 
heathenism,  and  here,  as  in  Africa,  the  beloved  formal- 
isms of  unsanctified  religion  rise  up  among  the  strongest 
barriers  against  the  conversion  of  men  to  the  Gospel. 

The  Yorubas,  Nufes,  etc.,  like  other  orientals,  are  un- 
reasonably ceremonious.  To  shake  hands  on  meeting  a 
friend  is  not  enough.  If  equals,  both  often  kneel,  and 
inferiors  frequently  prostrate  themselves  flat  on  the 
ground  before  superiors.  On  entering  a  house,  they 
leave  their  sandals  at  the  door,  if  they  wear  any,  but 
never  uncover  their  heads  as  a  mark  of  respect.  When 
a  visitor  retires,  he  simply  arises  and  says,  "  I  am 
going,"  whereupon  the  host  follows  him  to  the  door,  and 
bids  him  farewell. 

The  Yorubans  have  a  profusion  of  salutations.  In  the 
morning  it  is  O  ji  re  ?  "  did  you  wake  well  ?"  and  the 
person  replies,  "  God  be  thanked."    On  taking  leave  at 


SOCIAL  INTERCOURSE, 


303 


night,  they  often  say,  "  May  you  sleep  well."  When  a 
visitor  retires,  and  frequently  when  you  meet  him  in 
the  street  you  say  wo'  leh,  "  look  at  the  ground,"  that  is, 
to  prevent  stumbling.  "  Be  careful"  is  often  a  saluta- 
tion on  passing  a  person  in  the  road.  But  the  word 
most  used  by  every  body,  is  oku  or  aku}  properly  aiku 
"may  you  not  die!"  or  more  exactly  "immortality." 
When  you  visit  a  man  who  wishes  to  pay  you  particular 
respect  he  will  salute  you  aku!  aku  1  perhaps  twenty 
times,  and  you  must  invariably  answer,  O,  to  each  salu- 
tation. This  word  O  expresses  assent.  If  you  say  to 
your  servant,  do  so  and  so,  he  replies  O,  and  if  you 
perform  any  little  incidental  act  of  politeness,  as  picking 
up  a  thing  that  has  dropped  for  a  person,  he  may  say  O, 
instead  of  "  thank  you."  The  word  aku  is  compounded 
with  many  others,  so  as  to  form  an  appropriate  saluta- 
tion for  every  situation  in  life.  When  they  meet  a  man 
traveling,  they  often  say  akiirin,  because  rin  means  to 
walk  or  travel.  So  we  have  akuale,  good  evening, 
alcuoro,  good  morning,  akuassan,  good  day,  akule,  to  one 
in  a  house,  aku  joko,  to  one  sitting  down,  akushe,  to  one 
at  work,  and  so  on,  to  a  hundred  examples.  To  all 
these  you  reply  O,  and  if  you  make  no  reply,  it  is  con- 
sidered a  gross  insult. 

Courtship  is  generally  carried  on  by  means  of  female 
relatives,  and  either  sex  has  a  right  to  make  a  propo- 
sition. Very  often,  however,  courtship  is  prevented  by 
early  betrothment,  either  by  contract  between  the  pa- 
rents of  children,  or  between  a  man  and  the  parents  of 
a  little  girl.  In  such  cases,  a  dowry  or  price  of  some 
forty  dollars  or  more,  is  paid  by  the  expected  husband 
to  the  mother  of  the  girl.     A  betrothed  woman  is  so 


304 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


far  a  wife,  thut  her  unfaithfulness  would  be  adultery, 
yet  conventional  modesty  forbids  her  to  speak  to  her 
husband,  or  even  to  see  him  if  it  can  be  avoided.  If 
she  meets  any  of  his  previous  wives  in  the  street,  she 
salutes  them  by  falling  on  her  knees.  After  all,  it 
sometimes  happens  that  she  prefers  some  other  man, 
and  absolutely  refuses  to  fulfil  her  engagement.  Then 
she  is  either  teased  and  worried  into  submission,  or 
else  the  husband  agrees  to  receive  back  her  dowry  and 
release  her. 

Before  a  couple  are  married,  they  must  go  separately 
to  a  priest  of  Ifa  and  make  sacrifices  and  offer  prayers. 
On  the  nuptial  night,  the  bride  is  taken  to  the  bride- 
groom's house,  just  after  dark,  by  several  virgins,  and 
the  friends  of  the  parties  are  regaled  with  a  feast.  The 
virgins  remain  with  the  bride  for  several  days,  and 
sleep  with  her  at  night.  After  the  days  are  fulfilled, 
they  conduct  her  to  the  bridegroom's  room.  On  the 
following  morning,  if  his  bride  is  worthy,  he  dismisses 
her  attendants  with  presents,  and  sends  some  beautiful 
white  cowries  to  her  mother.  If  his  bride  is  not  worthy, 
he  drives  her  attendants  from  the  house  with  blows  and 
abuses,  and  sends  some  dirty  old  cowries  to  her  mother 
as  an  emblem  of  impurity. 

Polygamy  is  universal  in  Africa.  Kings,  nobles  and 
rich  men,  have  large  numbers  of  wives,  and  even  the 
common  people  sometimes  have  two  or  three.  No 
woman,  pretty  or  ugly,  rich  or  poor,  is  obliged  to  go 
unmarried.  Men,  of  course,  have  the  privilege  of  di- 
vorcing their  wives,  and  the  matter  is  all  the  easier, 
from  the  fact  that  every  woman  is  a  free  dealer,  who 
labors  for  herself  and  supports  herself,  and  has  no  claim 


MARRIAGE. 


305 


on  her  husband's  property.  If  divorced  without  a  cause, 
she  takes  up  all  that  is  her's  and  returns  to  her  relatives 
and  friends.  If  divorced  for  adultery,  she  or  her  family 
are  obliged  to  refund  the  dowry  to  the  husband.  Further 
than  this  he  has  no  claim  on  her  property.  Even  during 
the  continuance  of  the  marriage  relation,  the  woman  is 
sole  owner  of  her  property  and  her  earnings.'  She  is 
not  obliged  to  wrork  for  her  husband,  and  has  no  claim 
on  him  for  support,  either  for  herself  or  her  children. 
In  this  way  the  man  escapes  the  burden  of  supporting 
his  wives  and  children,  except  that  he  is  obliged  to  fur- 
nish them  with  house  room. 

When  a  man  dies,  the  eldest  son  inherits  the  house, 
and  all  the  wives  except  his  own  mother.  Incest  is 
never  allowed  except  in  conformity  to  this  law  of  inher- 
itance— the  reason  of  which  appears  to  be,  that  the 
women  may  not  be  left  widows  and  houseless.  I  am 
told  that  both  son  and  wives  are  very  well  contented 
with  the  arrangement. 

Yoruba  women  are  not  prolific,  and  entire  barrenness 
is  not  uncommon.  Though  not  a  crime,  it  is  regarded 
as  a  great  disgrace  to  be  without  children.  In  their 
quarrels  they  may  call  each  other  fools,  liars,  thieves, 
or  anything  ;  but  "  agan,"  barren,  is  a  word  which  the 
most  malignant  and  enraged  person  scarcely  ever  pre- 
sumes to  address  to  a  childless  woman. 

Children  are  much  beloved  by  both  parents.  I  once 
asked  a  woman  how  much  she  would  take  for  her  child  ? 
"  What  !  99  she  exclaimed,  pulling  her  child  towards  her 
with  evident  indignation,  "  sell  you  the  child  that  I 
bore  ?  "  From  some  cause  the  mortality  of  children  ap- 
pears to  be  greater  in  Yoruba  than  at  home.    One  rea- 


306 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


son  may  be  that  they  are  so  much  exposed  to  the  sun, 
slung,  as  they  are,  on  the  mother's  back  in  a  cloth. 
Such  exposure  would  certainly  kill  most  white  children. 

People  who  die  at  home,  are  generally  buried  in  the 
piazza  of  the  house.  Just  before  a  respectable  man  is 
interred,  the  corpse  is  carried  about  the  town  on  a  lit- 
ter, with  discharges  of  guns,  which  collect  a  crowd  of 
people.  The  bodies  of  infants  are  sometimes  thrown 
away  behind  the  wall,  because  it  is  thought  they  died 
through  the  influence  of  an  evil  spirit.  The  clothing 
and  implements  of  hunters  and  warriors  are  thrown  out 
by  the  side  of  the  road,  not  far  from  the  gate,  to  prevent 
their  ghost  from  entering  the  town  and  disturbing  the 
people.  Even  the  ghosts  of  quiet  citizens  have  to  be 
laid  on  the  seventh  day  after  death.  For  this  purpose, 
the  friends  of  the  deceased  go  out  at  the  gate  of  the 
city,  a  little  after  dark,  and  call  the  dead  man's  name 
three  times,  telling  him  that  he  is  now  done  with  the 
world,  and  must  not  come  back  to  haunt  them.  Women 
who  have  lost  their  husbands,  howl  and  lament  together 
at  day  break,  for  several  days  after  the  burial.  When 
the  days  of  mourning  are  ended,  they  give  a  public  en- 
tertainment. In  other  respects,  the  mourning  of  the 
people  has  nothing  absurd  or  unusual. 

Most  of  the  Yorubas  are  farmers.  Their  only  imple- 
ment is  the  hoe,  and  they  have  no  carts  or  wagons,  but 
they  cultivate  the  ground  well,  and  raise  abundant  crops 
of  everything  needed  in  the  country.  The  principal  and 
most  valued  crops  are  Indian  corn  and  yams.  Next  to 
these,  are  Guinea  corn  and  cotton,  which  they  spin  and 
weave  into  cloth.  The  common  crop  of  corn  is  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  it  sells  in 


OCCUPATIONS. 


307 


the  country  from  twenty  to  fifty  or  even  &eventy-five 
cents  a  bushel.  Both  upland  and  sea-island  cotton  are 
planted,  but  neither  produces  very  well,  owing  to  the 
extreme  and  constant  heat  of  the  climate.  For  the 
same  reason,  wheat,  oats,  &c,  as  also  apples,  peaches 
and  the  like,  can  not  be  raised.  Among  the  other  things 
commonly  planted,  we  may  enumerate  cassava,  sweet 
potatoes,  tania,  Lima  beans,  peas,  ground  peas  of  two 
kinds,  bene  or  sesame,  a  kind  of  uneatable  watermelon 
planted  for  the  sake  of  its  oily  seeds,  telfaria,  onions, 
okra,  and  other  vegetables.  Turnips,  radishes,  &c,  will 
not  flourish. 

Every  man  has  his  own  farm,  but  there  is  no  property 
in  land.  When  a  farm  is  abandoned,  it  becomes  com- 
mon property,  that  is,  any  one  who  chooses  may  plant 
it.  The  farms  are  not  fenced,  because  there  are  few 
cattle,  and  these  are  kept  near  the  town,  and  constantly 
watched  by  the  servants  of  the  owners.  Sheep  and 
goats  are  fed  chiefly  in  the  towns,  and  but  few  hogs  are 
raised. 

A  good  many  men,  and  still  more  women,  are  engaged 
in  traffic.  Some  are  engaged  in  exchanging  the  com- 
modities of  the  interior,  chiefly  ivory  and  carbonate  of 
soda  from  the  desert,  for  the  productions  and  imports  of 
the  low  country,  as  salt,  tobacco,  cotton  cloth,  beads, 
guns,  &c,  and  others  in  trading  from  town  to  town, 
in  the  various  productions  of  their  own  country.  All 
these  commodities  being  carried  on  peoples'  heads,  in 
loads  of  sixty  or  seventy  pounds  weight,  give  employ- 
ment to  great  numbers  of  carriers.  Two  years  ago, 
when  the  caravans  passed  between  Ogbomoshaw  and 
Ilorrin,  every  five  days  there  were  sometimes  two  or 


308 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


three  thousand  persons  on  the  road  at  a  time,  and  I  cal- 
culated that  one  hundred  yoke  of  oxen  would  be  re- 
quired to  convey  all  their  merchandize. 

For  the  most  part,  men  and  women  have  their  own 
occupations,  and  it  is  worthy  of  particular  remark,  that 
women  never  cultivate  the  soil  as  they  do  in  Guinea. 
All  the  arts  are  in  a  rude  state,  yet  they  are  sufficient 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  people.  The  iron  smelters 
furnish  the  iron,  which  the  smiths  manufacture  into 
hoes,  axes,  knives,  nails,  &c.  The  carpenter,  as  he  is 
called,  splits  trees  into  boards,  and  makes  doors  for 
the  houses.  The  leather  dresser  prepares  morocco  lea- 
ther from  sheep  and  goat  skins,  and  makes  bridle  reins, 
and  a  sort  of  shoes.  The  saddle  maker  exhibits  his 
skill  in  saddles,  which,  like  the  bridle-bit  used  in  the 
country,  is  almost  identical  with  that  made  in  Mexico. 
The  women  spin  cotton  and  sell  the  thread  to  the  weav- 
ers, who  are  men,  and  men  are  the  tailors  who  make 
garments.  The  women  again  make  earthen  pots,  cook, 
wash,  dye  with  indigo,  and  buy  and  sell  most  of  the 
provisions  which  pass  through  the  market.  Some  of  the 
men  find  good  employment  in  the  barber's  profession, 
and  a  few  are  professed  hunters  and  fishers,  Every  one 
is  perfectly  free  to  choose,  follow,  or  change  his  occu- 
pation at  pleasure. 

The  tools  and  implements  used  by  the  people,  are 
generally  contemptible.  The  axe  is  little  more  than 
two  inches  wide,  and  is  always  inserted  into  the  helve, 
which  is  large  and  clumsy.  The  only  tools  of  the  car- 
penter are  his  little  axe,  an  adze  of  the  same  character, 
and  an  iron  spindle,  to  burn  holes  in  his  timber.  The 
blacksmith  has  a  stone  for  an  anvil,  and  an  iron  cudgel 


OCCUPATIONS. 


309 


for  a  hammer.  His  bellows  is  a  couple  of  goat  skins 
stretched  over  two  wooden  bowls,  into  which  are  in- 
serted two  air  pipes  which  run  into  one.  The  weaver's 
loom,  though  constructed  on  precisely  the  same  princi- 
ple as  ours,  is  so  small  that  his  cloth  is  only  six  inches 
wide,  but  he  can  weave  forty  yards  a  day. 

So  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  the  peculiar  glass  manu- 
facture of  Central  Africa,  is  confined  to  three  towns  in 
Nufe,  one  of  which  is  situated  on  the  west  of  the  Niger. 
The  art  is  kept  a  profound  secret.  The  porcelain-like 
appearance  of  the  glass  would  indicate  that  the  feldspar 
which  abounds  in  the  country,  enters  into  its  composi- 
tion. The  singular  mineral  described  by  Lander,  was 
a  conglomeration  of  melted  African  beads  of  different 
colors. 


310 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

RELIGION    AND  GOVERNMENT. 

MONOTHEISM  —  IDOLATRY  —  MEDIATORS  —  SYMBOLS  —  SACRIFICES  — 
PRIESTS  —  THREE     PRINCIPAL    IDOLS  —  OBATALLA  —  SHAx^GO  —  IFA  — 
GOVERNMENT  —  WAR  —  CAPTIVES. 

No  man  has  ever  believed  in  two  gods,  or  that  the 
Jupiters  and  Astartes  which  he  worshipped,  were  really 
gods  at  all.  To  some  they  were  merely  personifications, 
to  others  real  persons,  but  all  have  looked  beyond  these 
to  the  God,  the  Unknown,  the  Cause  and  Preserver  of 
all  things.  Polytheism  has  no  existence  in  Sudan,  nor 
yet  in  Guinea.  The  objects  which  they  worship  are 
not  regarded  as  God  ;  they  are  not  even  called  gods, 
but  by  other  names  to  distinguish  them  from  God.  In 
Yoruba  many  of  the  notions  which  the  people  entertain 
of  God  are  remarkably  correct.  They  make  him  the 
efficient,  though  not  always  the  instrumental,  Creator. 
They  have  some  notion  of  his  justice  and  holiness,  and 
they  talk  much  of  his  goodness,  knowledge,  power  and 
providence.  "  Who,"  said  I  to  some  heathens,  "  is  like 
God  ?  99  and  they  replied,  "  There  is  none."  They  may 
extol  the  power  and  defend  the  worship  of  their  idols, 
whom  they  regard  as  mighty  beings,  but  they  will  not 
compare  the  greatest  idol  to  God. 


RELIGION. 


311 


Practical  idolatry  is  no  less  natural  to  man  than  a 
belief  in  one  God.  The  Israelites  had  felt  an  inward 
religious  yearning  for  the  idols  of  Egypt,  before  Aaron, 
with  hearty  good  feelings,  made  the  golden  calf  and  ex- 
claimed, "  This  is  thy  god,  0  Israel."  For  many  ages 
the  twelve  tribes  were  never  satisfied  with  the  sole  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah,  the  boundless,  formless,  incomprehen- 
sible I  am  ;  though  they  knew,  as  the  Egyptians  and 
Canaanites  knew,  that  their  idols  were  not  the  very  God. 
To  this  day  the  nations  of  Europe  have  not  been  con- 
verted from  the  idolatry  of  their  ancestors.  The  Jews 
always  called  their  idol  worship  the  worship  of  Jeho- 
vah. So  do  the  negroes  of  Africa,  so  do  the  Catholics  ; 
and  the  Eoman  priest  who  invokes  the  saints  is  no  less 
a  heathen  than  the  Jewish  woman  who  made  cakes  to 
the  queen  of  heaven. 

Belief  in  one  God  is  the  result  of  reason  ;  the  worship 
of  idols  arises  from  man's  ineradicable  feeling  or  sense 
of  guilt  and  feebleness.  The  instincts  of  his  soul  com- 
pel him  to  seek  a  mediator,  as  a  means  of  communica- 
tion between  himself  and  the  infinite,  invisible  God. 
This  is  precisely  the  view  which  the  negroes  take  of  their 
idols.  In  Yoruba,  the  orisha  (idol)  is  esteemed  and  called 
an  alaybawi,  intercessor,  literally  one  who  receives  peti- 
tions from  man  and  offers  them  to  God.  It  is  precisely 
the  same  as  the  Roman  saints,  who  stand  between  God 
and  the  Catholic  ;  and  the  feelings  which  actuate  the 
worshippers  are  radically  identical  with  those  which 
lead  so  many  Protestants  to  believe  that  the  prayers  of 
a  minister  are  more  effectual  than  their  own.  Nothing 
but  correct  views  of  the  mediation  of  Christ  can  correct 
this  natural  obliquity  of  the  human  heart.    Could  we 


312 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


convince  the  heathens  that  Jesus  is  a  better  mediator 
than  their  idols,  they  would  be  converted.  But  the  dif- 
ficulty of  producing  this  conviction  is  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  Catholics  will  cling  to  their  saints,  that  Pusey- 
ites  inwardly  groan  for  a  restoration  of  Catholicism,  and 
that  many  Protestants  make  mediators,  that  is,  idols,  of 
their  religious  teachers.  It  is  very  difficult  to  bring  the 
sense-bound,  sin-defiled  heart  of  man  to  apprehend 
Christ  ;  and  still  more  difficult  to  prevent  its  apprehend- 
ing some  other  refuge,  when  it  can  not  rest  in  Christ  as 
the  sole  and  all-sufficient  mediator. 

The  devil-worship  of  the  Africans,  of  which  we  have 
heard  so  much,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  idol 
atry,  or  trust  in  false  mediators,  just  mentioned.  Their 
fetishism  is  precisely  the.  same  system  of  superstition 
which  leads  Mahometans  and  Catholics  and  many  Prot- 
estants, to  employ  charms  and  amulets  as  a  means  of 
averting  evil.  The  noble  duke  who  fastened  a  horse- 
shoe to  the  marble  steps  of  his  palace,  believed  in  the 
power  of  the  fetish  as  well  as  the  negro  king  who  hangs 
amulets  and  charms  in  his  house  to  prevent  the  entrance 
of  witches  and  devils.  But  the  fetish  is  not  worshipped, 
either  in  Europe  or  Africa.  It  is  not  a  mediator,  but  a 
"  medicine,"  as  the  Indians  and  Africans  call  it,  which 
preserves  the  superstitious  from  spiritual  ills,  as  drugs 
avert  bodily  maladies.  The  Guinea  man  who  bows  be- 
fore idols,  and  trusts  in  the  amulet  called  a  fetish,  is 
certainly  very  stupid,  but  he  does  nothing  which  is  not 
imitated  by  half  the  people  in  Christendom. 

The  images  made  by  the  negroes  are  only  symbols. 
No  one  supposes  that  they  are  endowed  with  spirit,  in- 
telligence or  power.    They  are  precisely  analagous  to 


RELIGION. 


313 


the  images,  pictures,  and  crosses  of  the  Catholics.  It 
is  surprising  to  me  how  Europeans,  who  have  worship- 
ped images  and  worn  amulets  all  their  lives,  should  so 
far  have  misunderstood  and  misrepresented  the  religion 
and  superstition  of  the  Africans. 

There  is  one  respect,  however,  in  which  the  negro 
differs  from  the  Catholic.  The  latter  worships  to  escape 
the  pains  of  purgatory  or  the  perdition  of  hell.  The 
former  gives  himself  little  trouble  about  the  future. 
He  believes  in  hell,  or  at  least,  has  a  notion  of  the  place 
called  by  the  Yorubas,  orrun-akjpadiy  11  the  furnace- 
world,"  but  he  has  no  fears  that  he  is  in  danger  of  being 
lost  ;  and  hence,  all  his  sacrifices  and  prayers,  and  reli- 
gious hopes  and  fears,  have  reference  to  the  good  and 
evil  things  of  this  world.  Both  his  idol  and  his  fetish, 
like  the  white  man's  amulet,  are  wholly  for  the  body. 

The  desire  to  offer  sacrifices  is  instinctive  and  insepa- 
rable from  the  notion  of  mediation.  The  priest  is  the 
living  representative  of  the  two  ideas,  mediation  and 
sacrifice.  In  Yoruba,  every  idol  has  its  priests,  who 
offer  sacrifices  of  goats,  sheep,  hens,  pigeons,  &c. 
Sometimes,  though  very  rarely,  they  sacrifice  men,  as 
the  most  valuable  sacrifice  that  can  be  offered.  No  sac- 
rifices are  offered  to  God.  Sometimes  they  pray  to  Him. 
They  thank  Him  often  for  the  blessings  of  life  ;  and 
they  speak  daily  of  His  providence  over  the  world  ; 
but  they  never  approach  Him  with  gifts  and  offerings. 

The  idols  of  Yoruba  amount  to  three  or  four  hundred  ; 
most  of  which  are  of  little  note.  Some  of  them  are 
spiritual  creatures,  superior  to  men,  and  different  from 
angels  ;  others  are  ancient  heroes,  or  heads  of  families. 
They  are  often  symbolized  by  trees,  rivers,  and  other 
14 


814 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


natural  objects,  but  the  symbol  is  not  the  idol.  Once, 
before  I  understood  their  doctrines,  I  objected  to  the 
stupid  materialism  of  their  idolatry.  A  young  man 
stepped  forward,  and  inquired  :  "  Did  you  ever  see  God  ?  " 
I  replied:  "No."  "Neither  can  you  see  orisha,"  he 
continued,  "  but  there  is  an  orisha  there."  It  is  not 
usual,  however,  for  the  common  people  to  distinguish 
so  clearly  between  the  idol  and  the  symbol.  Most  of 
them  confound  the  symbol  with  the  thing  symbolized. 

When  I  asked  an  intelligent  man  :  "How  many  great 
orishas  are  there  ?"  he  replied  :  "  Three."  The  greatest 
of  these  is  Obbatalla,  who  is  the  reputed  maker  of  the 
human  body  ;  whence  he  is  called  Alamohrere,  the  owner 
of  the  good  clay.  After  the  body  had  been  made,  God 
himself  imbued  it  with  life,  for  this  was  more  than  Ob- 
batalla  could  do 

The  Yorubas  never  attempt  to  reconcile  their  contra- 
dictory opinions  and  traditions.  Notwithstanding  all 
they  say  about  the  creative  work  of  Obbatalla,  they 
also  affirm  that  God  himself  made  heaven,  and  earth, 
and  man.  The  name  of  the  first  man  was  Okikishi  and 
Obbalufoh,  and  the  name  of  his  wife  was  lye*  They 
came  from  heaven,  and  had  many  children  on  earth. 
The  first  sin  was  war.  They  have  no  tradition  of  the 
flood;  but  the  ship,  called  in  Yoruba  Okkoh  is  one  of 


*  These  names  are,  at  least,  curious.  Okiki  means  "/ame."  I  sus- 
pect that  shi,  si,  isi  and  s,  at  the  end  of  words  in  many  languages,  are 
from  si,  to  be,  [Latin  esse]  and  signify  being,  person.  Obbalufoh  means 
the  king  or  lord  of  speech,  because  the  first  man  was  the  first  speaker. 
Iye,  from  ye,  to  live,  signifies  life,  cf.  Heb.  khavah,  (Eve)  life,  Arab. 
Hawa  ;  cf.  Yoruba  wa,  to  be,  to  be  alive,  to  live 


RELIGION. 


315 


their  sacred  symbols,  they  know  not  why.  The  first 
settlement  of  Yoruba  was  at  If  eh;  the  next  at  Ikoso,  a 
town  lately  destroyed;  the  third  at  Igboho,  (Lander's 
Bohoo);  the  fourth  at  Awyaw  (Eyeo  or  Katanga,)  which 
was  destroyed  by  the  Pulohs  soon  after  the  visit  of  the 
Landers.  By  some,  Obbatalla  is  made  a  descendant  of 
the  ancient  Yoruba  kings.  The  etymology  of  the  word 
appears  to  be  obba  ti  nld,  11  the  great  king."  He  is  often 
called  Oriskanld,  the  great  orisha,  and  Orishapopo,  the 
orisha  of  the  gate,  because  his  temples,  or  houses,  are 
sometimes  placed  just  without  the  gate  of  the  city,  to 
which  he  acts  as  a  guardian  spirit.  He  is  sometimes 
represented  by  images,  as  an  armed  male  on  horseback, 
and  sometimes  as  a  female  suckling  a  child;*  but,  in 
fact,  is  an  androgyne,  representing  the  productive  power 
of  nature,  the  great  father  and  mother  of  all  things  mate- 
rial. The  reader  will  scarcely  be  surprised,  then,  when 
I  inform  him  that  the  mysterious  serpent-symbol,  and 
the  partes  genitales  in  coitu,  are  sculptured  on  the  temple 
doors  of  this  idol.  Sometimes  there  are  additional  sym- 
bols, as  a  leopard,  a  tortoise,  and  a  fish.  In  one  place 
only,  I  have  seen  a  woman  with  one  hand  and  one  foot, 
(a  half  Obbatalla,  the  feminine  principle  of  nature?) 
and  long  hair  tied  into  a  cue  with  a  ball  on  the  end. 
Who  can  believe  that  this  long-haired  goddess  origi- 
nated among  the  woolly-headed  negroes  ? 

The  next  great  orisha  is  Shango,  the  "Jupiter  Tonans  " 
of  the  Yorubas.    He  is  often  called  Jakuta,  the  stone- 


*  In  this  form,  she  is  called  Tyangba,  "the  receiving  mother,"  and 
is  reckoned  the  wife  of  Obbatalla,  the  horseman.  Qr.  Ob-buddhanla 
the  great  Buddh  ? 


316 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


caster, and  certain  old  stone  hatchets,  (leather  dressers?) 
like  those  found  in  America,  are  picked  up  in  the  fields 
and  venerated  as  thunder-bolts;  or  shall  we  say  that 
these  stones,  wherever  found,  were  symbolical  thunder- 
bolts from  the  beginning  ?  Shango  is  the  son  of  Or- 
rungan  (mid-day),  and  the  grandson  of  Agunju*  (the 
desert),  and  a  descendant  of  Okikishi,  the  first  man. 
His  mother  is  Iyemojja,  a  river  in  Yoruba.  His  elder 
brother  is  Dada  (nature,  from  da,  to  create),  who  is  one 
of  the  Yoruba  idols.  His  younger  brother  is  the  river 
Ogun,  which  is  the  symbol  of  war  and  blacksmithing, 
and  bears  the  name  of  the  warriors7  and  blacksmiths' 
god.  His  wives  are  Awya  (the  Niger),  and  the  rivers 
Ossun  and  Obba.  His  friend,  or  associate,  is  Orishako, 
the  god  of  farms,  whose  symbol  is  an  iron  bar,  by 
means  of  which  people  are  mesmerized  to  make  them 
strong  and  healthy. f  His  slave  is  Biri,  darkness,  and 
his  priest  is  Magba,  the  receiver.  Notwithstanding  his 
high  relations,  Shango  was  a  mortal  man,  who  was  born 
at  Ifeh,  and  reigned  at  Ikoso,  "whence  he  was  trans- 
lated alive  to  heaven,  and  made  immortal.  He  is  a 
nunter,  fisher,  and  warrior.  The  gates  of  his  palace  are 
of  brass;  the  number  of  his  horses  10,000.  The  righte- 
ous are  favored  of  Shango,  but  he  kills  the  wicked  with 
thunderbolts,  and  sends  them  to  hell. 

The  sun  and  moon  are  not  worshipped  in  any  part  of 
Yoruba,  except  at  Ifeh,  where  there  are  said  to  be  large 


*  I  rather  think  that  Agunju  here  means  the  empty  expanse  of  the 
sky. 

f  Want  of  time  forbids  me  to  describe  the  various  religious  cere- 
monies. / 


RELIGION. 


317 


brazen  images  of  these  objects,  and  a  brazen  chain, 
which  fell  down  from  heaven.  But  there  are  traces  of 
sun-worship  in  many  parts  of  Africa.  Oro,  the  execu- 
tive god  of  the  Egbas,  and  Purrah,  the  oppressor  of 
nations,  on  the  Mendi  Coast,  are  of  this  nature,  (cf. 
Pharaoh,  pur,  fire,  uro,  to  burn,  and  many  other  cognate 
words  in  all  parts  of  the  world.) 

The  next  and  last  orisha  which  I  shall  notice,  is  the 
great  and  universal  honored  Ifa}  the  revealer  of  secrets, 
and  the  guardian  of  marriage  and  child-birth.  This 
god  is  consulted  by  means  of  sixteen  palm  nuts.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not  assigned,  but  sixteen  persons 
founded  Yoruba;  the  palm  nut  which  they  brought 
produced  a  tree  with  sixteen  branches  ;  and  there  is 
said  to  be  a  palm  tree  with  sixteen  branches  on  Mt.  Ado, 
which  is  the  residence  of  the  chief  priest  of  Ifa.  The 
worship  of  Ifa  is  a  mystery  into  which  none  but  men 
are  initiated.  Neither  have  I  been  able  to  collect  much 
information  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  idol  or  the 
ceremonies  of  his  worship.  Hence  I  am  not  able  to 
affirm  what  I  suspect,  that  Ifa  corresponds  with  the 
Restorer  of  other  mythological  systems.  According  to 
some  traditions,  it  would  seem  that  Obbalufoh,  or  Adam, 
was  the  founder  of  Ifa. 

In  addition  to  all  their  other  idols,  usually  called 
devils  by  the  Englishmen  on  the  coast,  the  Yorubas 
worship  Satan  himself,  under  the  name  of  Eshu,  which 
appears  to  mean  "  the  ejected"  from  shu,  to  cast  out. 
He  is  not  worshipped  like  the  idols  as  a  mediator,  nor 
yet  because  they  suppose  he  will  hereafter  attain  tc 
power  and  dominion;  but  simply  as  a  malignant  being 
whom  they  think  it  best  to  conciliate.    His  altar  is  a 


318 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


rough  conglomerate  stone  of  clay  and  pebbles,  cement- 
ed with  iron,  upon  which  they  pour  oil,  as  if  to  mollify 
the  devil's  evil  disposition. 

The  civil  officers  are  the  king  at  Awyaw,  and  his 
counselors,  and  the  governors  and  their  counselors,  in 
the  various  towns.  At  present,  the  towns  are  nearly 
independent  of  the  king,  and  manage  their  affairs  very 
much  in  their  own  way.  The  military  officers  are  gene- 
rals, and  others  of  various  inferior  ranks.  Laws  are 
made  in  each  town  by  the  chief  and  his  counselors,  but 
sometimes  they  call  a  public  meeting  of  the  people. 
Neither  the  king,  nor  any  governor  or  chief  in  the  coun 
try,  is  arbitrary  or  above  law.  The  ruler  can  do  noth- 
ing without  the  assent  of  his  council,  and  the  ruler  and 
council  together  can  not  violate  the  ancient  traditional 
laws  of  the  country.  Whatever  despotic  acts  may  be 
witnessed  in  Africa,  they  are  all  performed  according 
to  "  the  common  law"  of  the  land,  the  origin  of  which 
is  lost  in  the  immeasurable  depths  of  antiquity. 

The  only  tax  of  which  I  have  heard,  is  the  toll  paid  in 
cowries  for  merchandise  which  enters  the  town,  and 
sometimes  a  small  tax  on  corn,  which  is  paid  in  kind  to 
the  gate  keepers,  as  the  farmers  bring  in  their  crops. 
Public  labors,  as  the  building  of  town  walls,  are  per- 
formed by  the  people  without  remuneration. 

Judicial  proceedings  are  of  two  kinds:  First,  before 
the  ruler  of  the  town  and  his  council,  according  to  law 
and  testimony;  «tnd  Secondly,  before  the  oboni  lodge,  a 
sort  of  Freemason  institution,  who  are  connected  with 
the  government  on  one  hand,  and  with  the  religion  of 
the  country  on  the  other.  The  oboni  house  has  three 
courts,  into  the  interior,  or  third  of  which,  no  un- 


GOVERNMENT. 


319 


initiated  person  may  enter  under  penalty  of  death. 
When  a  person  is  initiated,  he  has  to  kneel  down  and 
drink  a  mixture  of  blood  and  water  from  a  hole  in  the 
earth ;  but  what  else  he  is  required  to  do  I  am  not  in- 
formed. The  business  of  the  obonies  being  transacted  in 
secret,  I  have  no  knowledge  of  their  method  of  trying 
cases  when  they  sit  as  a  court.  They  are  feared  by 
the  mightiest  men  in  the  country. 

Criminals  are  executed  by  beheading,  or  strangling 
with  a  rope.  At  Ilorrin,  they  break  their  necks  with  a 
mace  or  iron  cudgel.  The  capital  offences  are  murder, 
treason,  and  house  burning  ;  in  some  places,  theft,  rob- 
bery, and  adultery.  Minor  offences  are  punished  by 
fine  and  imprisonment,  rarely  by  whipping. 

The  Dahomies  and  some  other  heathens,  make  war 
for  the  purpose  of  catching  slaves.  The  Mahometans 
do  so  both  for  this  purpose,  and  to  convert  the  heathens. 
But  in  general,  African  wars  arise  as  wars  in  other 
countries,  about  any  great  or  little  matter  which  the 
rulers  can  not  settle  by  negotiation.  A  campaign  is  a 
grand  spree  full  of  noise  and  confusion,  and  is  soon  over. 
A  single  battle  often  terminates  the  war ;  but  in  some 
cases  there  are  long  sieges.  The  soldiers  provide  their 
own  rations,  by  foraging  in  large  or  small  companies, 
and  receive  no  pay  except  what  they  can  steal  or  rob 
during  the  expedition.  At  present,  most  of  the  people 
have  inferior  smooth-bored  guns,  which  are  sold  to  the 
Guinea  negroes  by  European  traders,  and  sent  off  to  be 
sold  again  in  the  interior.  Their  powder,  chiefly  from 
Boston,  is  very  coarse,  and  their  rough  iron  balls  are 
made  by  their  own  blacksmiths. 

All  prisoners  taken  in  war  are  slaves  ;  and  if  not  re- 


320 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


deemed  by  their  countrymen,  are  set  to  work  by  the 
captors,  or  sold  to  dealers.  The  price  varies  from  thirty 
to  sixty  dollars,  according  to  age  and  quality.  I  have 
never  known  them  cruelly  treated  in  Yoruba.  Home- 
born  slaves  are  seldom  sold  to  the  slavers.  At  least 
four  fifths  of  the  people  are  free. 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA.  321 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 

ON  THE  MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 

SAVAGES  MAY  BE  CONVERTED  —  THEY  CAN  NOT  SUSTAIN  THE  GOSPEL—* 
THEY  MUST  BE  CIVILIZED  —  THE  DIVINE  METHOD  OF  DEALING  WITH 
MAN  —  THE  FORMER  STATE  OF  AFRICA  —  ITS  PRESENT  STATE  —  WHAT 
TYPE  OF  CIVILIZATION  SUITS  IT  —  THE  DUTY  OF  MISSIONARIES  —  IM- 
PORTANCE OF  COMMERCE  —  COMMERCIAL  RESOURCES  OF  CENTRAL  AFRICA 
—  INDUSTRY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  NAVIGATION  OF  THE  NIGER. 

The  barbarous  negro  of  Africa,  and  the  enlightened 
white  man  of  America,  are  endowed  with  a  common 
human  nature.  Although  in  different  degrees  of  devel- 
opment, they  both  have  the  same  good  and  evil  pro- 
pensities, the  same  hopes  and  fears,  the  same  instinctive 
religious  yearnings,  and  the  same  capabilities.  It  fol- 
lows, then,  that  the  Gospel  is  adapted  to  both.  The 
veriest  savage  on  earth  is  not  too  unhuman  to  be  capa- 
ble of  conversion.  If  a  priori  reasoning  on  this  point 
were  not  sufficient  to  convince  us,  the  fact  is  manifest  in 
the  success  of  missionaries  among  the  Hottentots.  No 
Christian  will  deny  that  men  may  be  converted  without 
civilization,  or  that  whole  communities  of  barbarians 
might  become  at  least  nominally  Christian,  like  the  civil- 
ized nations  of  Europe  and  America. 

But  our  designs  and  hopes  in  regard  to  Africa,  are 
14* 


o  o  o 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


not  simply  to  bring  as  many  individuals  as  possible  to 
the  knowledge  of  Christ.  We  desire  to  establish  the 
Gospel  in  the  hearts  and  minds  and  social  life  of  the 
people,  so  that  truth  and  righteousness  may  remain  and 
flourish  among  them,  without  the  instrumentality  of 
foreign  missionaries.  This  can  not  be  done  without 
civilization.  To  establish  the  Gospel  among  any  people, 
they  must  have  Bibles,  and  therefore  must  have  the  art 
to  make  them,  or  the  money  to  buy  them.  They  must 
read  the  Bible,  and  this  implies  instruction.  They  must 
have  competent  native  pastors,  and  this  implies  several 
things  which  can  not  exist  without  a  degree  of  civil- 
ization. 

Suppose,  now,  that  all  the  people  of  Africa  were  con- 
verted to-day,  and  left  to-morrow  to  perpetuate  their 
Christianity  without  foreign  assistance.  In  a  few  gene- 
rations they  would  sink  to  a  level  with  the  Christians 
of  Abyssinia,  as  unconverted,  as  superstitious,  and  as 
vicious  as  the  very  heathens  themselves.  The  great 
Roman  apostacy  was  only  the  natural  result  of  that  su- 
perstition, and  that  ignorance  of  the  Bible,  which  were 
inevitably  connected  with  the  social  state  of  the  people 
in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity.  While  it  is  the  glory 
of  the  Gospel  that  the  weakest  reasonable  creature  can 
perceive  its  essential  truths  sufficiently  to  be  sanctified 
and  saved,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the  Gospel  can 
not  be  divorced  from  the  written  word,  as  it  must  be 
among  illiterate  barbarians.  To  diffuse  a  good  degree 
of  mental  culture  among  the  people,  though  a  secondary 
object,  is  really  and  necessarily  one  part  of  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  Africa  ;  and  he  that  expects  to  evange- 
lize the  country  without  civilization,  will  find,  like  Xa- 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


323 


vier  in  the  East,  and  the  Jesuits  in  South  America,  and 
the  priests  in  Congo,  that  his  labors  will  end  in  disap- 
pointment. It  has,  indeed,  an  appearance  of  simple  en- 
ergetic faith,  to  affirm  that  the  Gospel  alone  is  sufficient 
to  evangelize  the  barbarous  nations.  So  it  had  an 
appearance  of  great  piety  when  the  cynic  saints  of 
antiquity  abjured  society  in  order  to  spend  their  days 
in  desert  ravines,  or  mountain  caves,  or  on  the  tops  of 
pillars.  But  the  experience  and  the  sober  sense  of  man- 
kind, will  always  decide  that  true  faith  and  true  piety 
are  inseparable  from  a  due  regard  both  to  the  body  and 
the  soul,  and  to  the  mental  as  well  as  the  moral  nature 
of  man.  The  Gospel  was  never  intended  to  feed  and 
clothe  us,  or  to  instruct  us  in  reading,  writing  and 
printing,  or  in  grammar,  history,  geography,  and  other 
things  necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the 
Bible.  Yet  without  food  and  clothing,  and  several 
branches  of  secular  knowledge,  the  Bible  and  the  Gos- 
pel can  not  exist  in  any  country. 

It  is  not  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  exists,  nor  yet  the 
mere  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  that  converts  the  soul. 
In  the  parable  of  the  sower,  the  good-ground  hearer, 
the  only  one  who  is  saved,  is  "he  that  heareth  the 
word  and  understandeth  it."  Now  in  all  countries,  if 
the  influence  of  friends,  or  the  influence  of  false  relig- 
ion, if  mental  pride  or  mental  barbarism,  or  any  thing 
else,  should  seal  up  a  man's  heart  and  prevent  his  un- 
derstanding the  Gospel,  that  man  will  be  lost.  One  of 
the  great  reasons  why  the  Gospel  has  so  little  effect  in 
barbarous  countries,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  bar- 
barism of  the  people  seals  up  their  hearts  and  prevents 
their  understanding  the  necessity  and  fitness  of  Chris* 


324 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


as  the  only  Sacrifice,  and  the  only  Mediator  by  whom 
they  must  be  saved.  The  savage  may  be  converted  if 
he  can  be  brought  to  understand  these  truths.  Yet  we 
have  always  found,  that  comparatively  very  few  can 
be  brought  to  understand  the  Gospel,  and  the  conver- 
sion of  these  partakes  of  the  general  imbecility  of  their 
barbarous  souls.  The  duty  of  preparing  the  hearts  of 
individuals,  and,  of  course,  of  communities,  as  a  discreet 
farmer  prepares  his  soil  by  the  removal  of  stones  and 
thorns,  is  taught  in  the  parable  of  the  sower  just  men- 
tioned. The  preaching  of  the  Word  is  one,  and  a  chief, 
means  of  preparing  the  heart,  but  every  bodily  and 
mental  advantage  which  enables  a  man  to  understand 
the  Gospel,  is  an  auxiliary.  Since  God  is  pleased  to 
work  by  consistent  means,  it  is  doubtless  owing  in  part 
to  natural  causes,  that  some  whole  families  in  our  own 
country  are  religious,  from  generation  to  generation, 
while  not  a  single  member  of  other  families  has  ever 
been  known  to  be  a  Christian.  In  like  manner  it  is 
owing  in  part  to  natural  causes,  that  Christianity 
flourishes  wherever  it  is  planted  in  its  purity,  in  civilized 
countries,  while  it  either  degenerates  into  contemptible 
superstition  or  becomes  extinct  among  barbarous  tribes. 

We  may  learn  a  great  practical  lesson,  by  observing 
God's  own  method  of  proceeding.  All  his  providences 
from  Adam  until  now,  have  been  ordered  not  only  to 
secure  the  salvation  of  individual  souls,  but  to  prepare 
the  minds  of  men  for  the  establishment  and  perpetua- 
tion of  the  pure  Gospel  throughout  the  earth.  It  was 
not  without  a  cause  deeply  laid  in  the  nature  of  things, 
that  the  coming  of  Christ  was  delayed  for  four  or  five 
thousand  years.    This  delay  was  necessary  to  the  es- 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA.  325 


tablishment  of  the  Gospel,  unless  God  should  choose  to 
dissolve  the  connection  which  he  had  established  be- 
tween the  human  intellect  and  affections,  and  the  means 
which  he  had  ordained  to  impress  and  govern  the  human 
race.  To  state  the  whole  matter  briefly,  the  promises 
of  a  Saviour  to  Adam  and  to  Abraham;  the  patriarchal 
doctrines  of  sacrifices  and  mediation;  the  doctrines  and 
rites  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation;  the  varied  fortunes  of 
the  Israelites  and  Jews;  the  wide  diffusion  of  the  Greek 
language  by  the  mad  adventures  of  Alexander  ;  the 
wars  and  conquests  of  Kome,  and  in  short,  the  history 
of  the  whole  world,  were  only  one  harmonious  scheme 
of  divine  providence  moving  irresistibly  forward  to 
make  ready  a  people  prepared  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  when 
at  last  in  "the  fullness  of  time,"  he  should  make  his  ap- 
pearance on  earth.  The  preaching  of  John  was  a  neces- 
sary precedent  to  the  ministry  of  Christ,  and  his  ministry 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  great  success  which  attended 
the  preaching  of  the  Apostles.  But  the  work  of  prepa- 
ration, consistently  with  the  laws  of  the  human  mind, 
was  not  yet  accomplished.  Without  abandoning  the 
plan  of  divine  government  over  man,  the  Gospel  could 
not  yet  eradicate  superstition  and  establish  itself  in  its 
purity  over  the  earth.  The  great  Apostacy,  the  long 
conflict  between  the  true  Church  and  Antichrist ;  the 
revival  of  letters  and  science;  the  great  but  still  defect- 
ive reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century;  the  extension 
of  geographical  knowledge  ;  the  American  revolution  ; 
the  recent  going  forth  of  the  missionary  spirit,  and  the 
labors  which  we  are  now  performing,  are  all  indispensa- 
ble links  in  that  chain  of  providence  which  is  to  fill  the 
whole  earth  with  the  knowledge  of  God.    Observe  then 


326 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


that  in  every  step  of  these  providences,  the  Almighty 
and  All-wise  himself  has  proceeded  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  whole  nature  of  man,  and  let  us  learn  that  we 
too  must  proceed  in  the  same  manner,  if  we  desire  to 
be  good  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Evangelization  is  our 
great  first  object,  because  the  soul  is  more  than  the  body; 
but  evangelization  involves  civilization,  both  as  cause 
and  effect,  because  the  body,  the  intellect,  and  the  affec- 
tions of  man,  are  so  inseparably  united,  as  to  act  and  re- 
act upon  each  other,  both  for  good  and  for  evil. 

We  return  now  and  say,  that  if  the  twelve  apostles 
had  gone  into  tropical  Africa,  and  labored  there  and  there 
only,  their  success  would  have  been  limited,  not  only  in 
regard  to  the  conversion  of  souls,  but  especially  in  re- 
gard to  the  establishment  and  perpetuation  of  the  Gos- 
pel; unless  indeed  God  had  been  pleased  to  reverse  his 
long-established  plan  of  government,  and  to  work  such 
a  change  in  human  nature  as  would  amount  to  an  un- 
manning of  man.  For  at  that  time,  far  more  than  at 
present,  Africa  was  covered  with  her  primeval  forests 
Avhich  generate  barbarism  as  naturally  as  the  mangrove 
swamps  on  her  sea  coast  generate  malaria,  and  the  re- 
moval of  these  forests,  as  already  stated,  was  a  condition 
of  African  civilization.  As  yet,  also,  Africa  had  not 
felt  the  influence  of  that  mighty  scheme  of  providence 
which  had  long  been  preparing  the  civilized  world  for 
the  reception  of  Christ.  Still  further,  she  sustained  no 
such  relations  to  the  rest  of  the  world  as  united  her  to 
the  great  community  of  man,  and  would  compel  her  to 
move  with  the  progress  of  human  society.  But  if  the 
apostles  could  not  have  established  the  Gospel  in  Africa, 
any  attempt  of  their  successors  during  the  first,  mid 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


327 


die  and  latter  ages,  would  have  been  still  less  suc- 
cessful. 

We  have  too  often  condemned  the  supineness  of  our 
predecessors  in  the  missionary  work,  by  our  not  re- 
membering that  the  providential  fullness  of  time  had 
not  yet  come.  The  conversion  of  the  world  was  then 
naturally  and  absolutely  impossible.  Our  hated  and 
persecuted  predecessors  "in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  had  their  own  appropriate  toils  and 
duties,  and  for  the  most  part  they  performed  them  well. 
Our  duties  are  different.  To  us  Africa  presents  a  new 
and  hopeful  aspect,  one  which  she  has  never  before  pre- 
sented since  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Her  prime- 
val forests  are  gone,  and  with  them  her  savage  state  has 
perished  forever.  The  new  condition  of  the  country  has 
produced  a  new  condition  of  the  people.  New  wants, 
new  hopes  and  new  ideas  are  forcing  her  tribes  upward 
in  the  scale  of  humanity.  Almost  the  whole  continent 
is  agitated  by  the  events  of  a  transition  state  ;  the  eyes 
of  the  world  are  upon  her;  the  hearts  and  the  hands  of 
the  world  are  drawing  her  into  the  great  confraternity 
of  man;  the  heralds  of  Christ  are  there,  pushing  forward 
into  the  unknown  depths  of  her  interior  nations  ;  and 
now  it  requires  no  prophet  to  declare  the  natural  result 
of  all  these  potent  forces,  "  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch 
forth  her  hands  unto  God." 

What,  then,  shall  Christians  of  this  favored  age  at- 
tempt to  do  for  Africa  ?  The  same  as  we  are  now  at- 
tempting. Give  the  people  missionaries,  give  them 
Bibles,  give  them  the  power  to  perpetuate  the  Gospel 
amongst  them,  or,  in  one  word — civilization.  It  is  not 
wise,  however,  to  commit  the  too  common  mistake  of 


328 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


supposing  that  our  form  of  civilization  is  the  exemplar 
for  the  whole  earth.  It  is  not  the  best  form  for  our- 
selves, and  is  not  adapted  to  Africa  at  all.  The  climate 
and  the  moral  and  mental  constitution  of  the  people 
are  unanimous  in  demanding  an  African  civilization  for 
Africa,  such  as  that  which  the  people  of  the  interior 
have  already  originated,  and  which  only  needs  to  be 
developed  on  its  own  basis,  in  conjunction  with  pure 
Christianity.  Too  many  persons  seem  to  regard  the 
English  language  as  a  sort  of  second  gospel  to  mankind, 
and  in  some  parts  of  Africa  they  have  absolutely  cursed 
the  people  by  means  of  English  schools.  Too  many  ap- 
pear to  think  that  African  civilization  ought  to  leap 
into  full  grown  existence,  as  if  by  miracle,  and  they  are 
not  willing  for  the  negroes  to  grow  up  into  civilization, 
as  other  people  have  done,  by  the  natural  and  slow  de- 
velopment of  civilizing  forces.  Hence,  they  either  deny 
that  the  present  gradual  progress  of  the  Africans  will 
ever  elevate  them  to  the  estate  of  civilized  men,  or 
else  they  become  careless  in  their  labors  for  Africa, 
because  they  shall  not  live  to  see  the  final  result.  To 
be  the  true  friends  of  A  frica,  we  must  agree  to  labor 
patiently,  and  almost  unrequited.  Every  attempt  to  force 
our  full-grown  civilization  upon  barbarians,  serves  only  to 
stupefy  and  paralyze  them  by  exhibitions  of  skill  which 
they  can  neither  understand  nor  imitate.  By  this  means 
they  are  not  stimulated  to  action,  but  become  discouraged. 
The  wise  instructor  of  Africa  is  content  to  begin  with  the 
elements  of  knowledge,  both  religious  and  secular,  and 
he  continues  his  course  by  attempting  a  diffusion  of  such 
principles  of  Christianity,  science,  art  and  social  improve- 
ment as  the  people  can  appreciate  and  reduce  to  practice. 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


329 


The  missionary  work,  and  the  only  duty  of  mission- 
aries, as  such,  is  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
planting  and  training  of  churches.  The  duties  of  this 
single  calling  are  sufficient  to  fill  the  hands  of  any 
laborer.  After  all,  the  missionary  is  a  man,  no  less  than 
a  minister,  and,  as  a  man,  he  can  not  avoid  feeling  an 
interest  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  physical,  mental, 
or  moral  improvement  of  mankind.  He  must  not  be  a 
schoolmaster  for  the  heathen,  but,  if  he  is  wise,  he  will 
do  all  that  he  consistently  can  for  the  promotion  of  such 
schools  as  are  adapted  to  the  condition  and  wants  of 
the  people.  He  can  not  instruct  them  in  the  arts  of  the 
blacksmith,  the  carpenter,  the  mason,  &c,  but  he  will 
desire  them  to  have  that  degree  of  instruction  in  every 
art  which  is  necessary  to  their  present  improvement. 
He  may  not  turn  merchant  among  them,  but  he  will  re- 
joice at  the  extension  of  commerce,  as  one  of  the  great 
means  of  civilization.  In  like  manner,  missionary 
societies  can  not  become  the  patrons  and  supporters  of 
anything  which  is  not  directly  a  part  of  the  mission- 
aries' work  ;  but,  if  need  be,  they  may  render  any  kind 
of  assistance  to  school  teachers,  mechanics,  and  traders, 
which  may  be  consistent  with  the  design  for  which 
missionary  societies  were  created. 

No  one  denies  that  schools  and  the  industrial  arts 
would  be  useful  to  Africa,  and  helpful  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Gospel,  but  the  greatest  of  all  these  second- 
ary means  for  the  extension  of  the  Gospel,  is  commerce 
with  Christian  countries.  Of  course,  I  make  no  allusion 
to  the  slave  trade,  which  is  supported  by  the  most  de- 
moralizing species  of  war,  and  causes  the  death  of  two 
or  three  persons,  on  an  average,  for  every  slave  that  is 


380 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


brought  to  the  market.  Like  many  other  things  in 
human  history,  the  slave  trade  was  a  mixture  of  good 
and  evil  ;  but  the  great  cycle  of  human  events  has 
passed  it  by,  never  to  return.  Already  "  lawful  com- 
merce, "  as  it  is  usually  and  significantly  called,  has 
taken  fast  hold  on  most  of  the  old  stations  of  the  slave 
trade,  as  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gambia,  at  Sierra  Leone, 
in  Liberia,  on  the  Gold  Coast,  and  lastly,  at  Lagos. 
This  is  the  traffic  which  we  regard  as  a  powerful  auxili- 
ary of  the  Gospel,  and  upon  the  steady  advances  of 
which  we  look  as  an  evidence  that  our  missionary  labors 
shall  not  cease  till  Africa  has  been  added  to  the  civi- 
lized world.  That  the  men  who  are  engaged  in  this 
work  feel  intense  interest  in  the  progress  of  present 
events  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we  consider  that 
as  preachers,  school  teachers,  mechanics  and  traders, 
they  are  creating  nations  and  founding,  empires.  Never 
before  have  the  benevolence,  the  wisdom,  the  wealth  and 
the  might  of  men  been  devoted  and  pledged  to  such  a 
work  as  this,  of  which  Africa  is  now  the  object.  How- 
ever much  it  may  be  delayed,  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
undertaking  is  no  less  certain  than  the  principles  of 
nature  upon  which  it  is  founded. 

While  we  remember  that  African  commerce  is  yet 
feeble,  we  are  not  discouraged  in  our  hopes  that  it 
is  destined  to  become  a  powerful  instrumentality  in  the 
civilization  and  conversion  of  the  continent.  The  com- 
mercial importance  of  the  country  is  beginning  to  be 
recognized.  The  scores  of  French  and  English  vessels 
constantly  engaged  in  navigating  the  Senegal  and 
Gambia  rivers,  and  the  rapidly-increasing  traffic  of 
several  nations  with  the  Western  Coast  generally,  are 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


331 


proof  of  this.  But  the  present  trade  is  probably  not  a 
tithe  of  what  it  might  be,  even  with  the  present  popu- 
lation. The  single  article  of  palm  oil — to  say  nothing 
of  all  sorts  of  tropical  productions — has  no  assignable 
limit,  as  regards  either  the  production  or  the  consump- 
tion. The  little  palm  nut  is  the  greatest  enemy  that 
has  ever  reared  its  head  against  the  slave  trade  ;  for 
civilized  nations  will  soon  find  negroes  too  valuable  in 
Africa  to  suffer  their  exportation  to  other  countries. 
Hereafter  every  war  in  Western  Africa  will  be  an  injury 
to  Europe  and  America,  and  we  rejoice  to  see  so  strong 
an  advocate  of  peace  arising  to  power  and  immortality 
on  the  shores  of  that  hitherto  wretched  country.  We 
thank  God  for  that  emblem  of  peace,  the  palm  tree. 

But  the  internal  wealth  of  all  countries,  and  especi- 
ally of  so  broad  and  rich  a  continent  as  Africa,  must 
always  be  vastly  superior  to  that  of  the  Coast.  In 
every  thing  except  rice  and  palm  oil,  Sudan  has  the 
advantage  of  Guinea.  The  air  is  more  salubrious  ;  at 
present,  the  people  are  more  civilized,  and  are  superior 
as  to  race  ;  and  the  soil  and  climate  are  better  adapted 
to  most  of  the  tropical  productions  which  are  accounted 
so  valuable  to  other  hot  countries.  Here  at  the  present 
moment,  are  millions  of  people,  every  one  of  whom  may 
have  something  to  sell,  and  desires  something  to  buy. 
The  caravan  trade  across  a  thousand  miles  of  desert,  is 
computed  at  several  millions  of  pounds  sterling,  even 
now,  although  it  is  expensive  and  unnatural,  owing  to 
the  character  and  length  of  the  road.  The  negro  cara- 
vans of  the  interior,  which  travel  from  one  market  to 
another,  often  consist  of  hundreds,  and  sometimes  of 
two  or  three  thousand  people,  laden  with  home  produc- 


332 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


tions,  with  salt  and  carbonate  of  soda  from  the  desert, 
and  with  numerous  articles  from  civilized  countries, 
which  by  some  long  and  expensive  route  have  reached 
the  heart  of  the  continent.  From  what  I  saw  and 
learned  at  Ilorrin,  I  suppose  the  weekly  arrival  of  such 
traders  at  that  town  can  not  be  much,  if  any,  less  than 
ten  thousand,  and  the  same  is  going  on  in  every  part  of 
the  country.  There  is  not  a  town  without  its  market, 
and  not  a  market  without  some  European  goods,  and  a 
desire  for  more  ;  and  yet  all  this  vast,  populous  and 
productive  region,  is  cut  off  from  all  direct  and  conve- 
nient intercourse  with  the  civilized  world.  How  much, 
and  how  many  valuable  commodities  are  there  wasted 
annually  for  want  of  a  market,  or  else  not  produced,  or 
but  little  produced,  we  are  not  able  to  say.  The  present 
trade  of  the  country  is  of  course  almost  nothing  to  what 
it  might  be. 

So  far  as  the  productions  of  Central  Africa  depend  on 
the  willingness  of  the  people  to  labor,  there  is  no  doubt 
as  to  their  abundance.  The  industry  of  these  people  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  unexpected  facts  which 
have  been  brought  to  light  by  our  acquaintance  with 
the  country.  It  is  a  land  without  vagrants.  The  black 
smith,  the  weaver,  the  farmer,  in  short  every  body,  male 
and  female,  has  something  to  do,  and  their  markets 
are  always  abundautly  supplied  with  every  home  pro- 
duction for  which  there  is  a  demand.  No  argument  is 
needed  to  show  how  probable  it  is  that  such  a  people 
would  labor  still  more,  if  stimulated  by  the  demand  of  a 
good  foreign  market. 

For  what  now,  does  the  majestic  Niger,  the  Missis- 
sippi of  Africa,  flow  through  the  heart  of  Sudan,  except 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA.  333 

to  form  a  great  highway  for  a  great  traffic  with  foreign 
countries  ?  But  the  civilized  world  is  still  unacquaint- 
ed with  the  Niger.  Strange,  indeed,  that  the  great  and 
enterprising  commercial  nations  of  the  world,  should 
not  know  whether  the  Niger  is  or  is  not  navigable  for 
steamers  !  But  this  fact  has  arisen  partly  from  our 
mistakes  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  country  and 
people,  and  partly  from  some  mistakes  which  have  been 
made  in  attempts  to  explore  the  stream.  The  manner 
in  which  several  travelers  have  pushed  through  the 
country,  as  if  traveling  against  time  and  reason,  has 
brought  more  reproach  on  the  climate  of  Africa  than  it 
ever  deserved.  Travelers  would  be  likely  to  lose  their 
lives  in  any  country  if  they  should  hasten  on,  as  did 
Park,  without  shoes,  or  as  the  younger  Park,  with  no 
clothing  but  a  calico  wrapper,  or  as  Clapperton  and 
others,  exposed  to  sun  and  rain,  wading  streams,  lying 
on  the  wet  ground,  and  too  often  endeavoring  to  coun- 
teract these  imprudences  by  an  imprudent  use  of  brandy. 

Mungo  Park  lost  his  life  by  the  mistake  of  firing  on  the 
kind-hearted  people  of  Busa,  who  meant  him  no  harm, 
and  thus  throwing  them  into  the  mistake  that  his  canoe 
was  the  advance  of  the  Fellatah  army.  Lander  floated 
down  the  river  from  Yauri  to  the  sea,  but  forgot  to  ob- 
serve whether  there  was  any  real  impediment  to  navi- 
gation by  steamers. 

Laird  and  Oldfield,  who  reached  Eaba,  were  not  pro- 
vided with  boats  of  sufficient  power  and  lightness  for 
the  service. 

They  lost  many  men,  partly  from  imprudent  exposure, 
partly  from  the  constant  use  of  rum,  and  partly  by  purg- 
ing, bleeding,  and  blistering  the  heads  of  men  whose 


334 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


cases  required  an  opposite  treatment.  In  the  lower 
part  of  the  river,  they  were  troubled  with  sand  bars, 
because  they  were  not  acquainted  with  the  rules  by 
which  the  eye  may  determine  the  course  of  the  channel. 
Finally  they  made  no  money.  This  expedition  dis- 
couraged the  English  for  several  years,  during  which 
time  Captain  Beecroft,  late  Consul  at  Fernando  Po,  as- 
cended the  river  on  his  own  account  to  a  point  some 
distance  above  Raba. 

The  recent  expedition,  (in  1854,)  ascended  the  Benue 
to  11°  east  longitude,  and  returned  at  the  end  of  six 
weeks  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  This  result 
had  been  predicted  by  Mr.  Hutchinson,  (see  his  journal) 
provided  the  men  would  live  prudently  and  make  free 
use  of  quinine.  The  boat  returned  professedly  for  want 
of  wood,  but  really,  some  were  dissatisfied,  and  unfortu- 
nately, among  the  several  personages  on  board,  there 
was  no  one  invested  with  authority  to  control  the  move- 
ments of  the  expedition.  It  still  remains  for  England 
or  some  other  power,  to  make  a  well-ordered,  persever- 
ing effort  to  explore  the  Niger  and  its  tributaries.  The 
matter  would  be  very  easy  to  our  own  government. 

Our  present  knowledge  of  the  Niger  is  rather  exten- 
sive than  definite.  The  delta  is  sickly,  but  may  be  pass- 
ed in  a  short  time  by  a  good  steamer,  after  which,  the 
climate  is  probably  as  good  as  in  other  tropical  rivers 
The  sand  bars  would  give  little  trouble  to  an  experi- 
enced river  pilot.  There  are  "rapids"  at  Busa,  but  the 
river  is  several  hundred  yards  wide,  and  canoes  are 
paddled  up  and  down  it  daily.  The  broad  river  above 
Busa,  is  full  of  shoals  and  islands,  but  is  navigable  for 
canoes,  an^  we  can  scarcely  doubt  that  some  of  the 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


335 


wide  channels  are  sufficiently  deep  for  steamers.  The 
proper  season  to  enter  the  river  would  be  about  the 
end  of  April,  so  as  to  allow  ample  time  for  interview 
with  chiefs,  and  to  reach  Busa  in  June.  One  error  of 
the  English  explorers  has  been  too  much  haste  to 
return,  and  another,  too  much  desire  to  traffic.  Accord- 
ing to  Caille,  who  descended  in  a  canoe,  the  river  above 
Timbuctu  is  broad  and  deep,  and  it  probably  retains 
this  character  for  several  hundred  miles.  Below  Yauri 
there  is  no  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  the  natives. 
The  Moors  about  Timbuctu,  might  or  might  not  be 
hostile,  but  it  is  most  probable  that  they  would  receive 
the  explorers  with  friendship.  Prudence  would  suggest 
that  the  steamer  or  steamers  should  be  adequately  pro- 
vided with  means  of  defence. 

One  serious  mistake  has  been  committed  by  commer- 
cial adventurers  on  the  Niger.  They  have  expected, 
very  wrongly,  that  if  the  country  were  rich  they  should 
find  abundance  of  valuable  commodities,  ready  to  be 
purchased,  and  brought  aboard  the  steamers.  Because 
they  have  not  found  this,  they  have  been  discouraged. 
Even  McGregor  Laird,  so  lately  as  last  year,  complains 
that  the  expedition  up  the  Benue  was  not  remunerative. 
How  could  he  expect  that  any  first  or  second  expedition 
of  this  kind  could  be  very  profitable  ?  I  presume  he  did 
not  expect  it ;  but  his  remark  was  made  to  induce  the 
British  government  to  relieve  him  of  the  expense  of 
another  expedition  ;  whereas  they  ought  to  have  taken 
the  affair  into  their  own  hands  at  first,  and  have  put 
the  expedition  in  command  of  some  man  who  would 
have  finished  the  work. 

The  navigation  of  the  Niger  is  not  a  lottery,  in  which 


336 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


men  may  draw  a  fortune,  but  a  matter-of-fact  work,  in 
which  they  may  earn  it.  If  trading  houses  were  estab- 
lished at  suitable  points  on  the  river,  the  people  would 
soon  come  to  buy  and  sell,  first  by  hundreds,  and  then 
by  thousands,  and  the  productions  of  the  country  could 
be  laid  up  ready  for  the  steamers.  Before  many  years, 
the  centres  of  trade  would  remove  from  their  present 
locations  to  the  banks  of  the  river  ;  the  caravan  trade 
across  the  desert  and  to  the  distant  coast  of  Guinea 
would  be  broken  up  ;  wagon  roads  would  be  opened  ; 
new  articles  of  export  would  come  into  notice,  and  the 
production  of  old  ones  would  be  increased  ;  and,  at 
last,  the  traffic  which  would  not  pay  the  expenses  of 
the  first  expedition  would  be  an  object  of  importance  to 
the  civilized  world. 

Possibly  this  commerce  might  need  some  protection, 
either  by  forts,  with  a  few  civilized  negro  soldiers,  or 
by  armed  steamers,  which  is  the  method  adopted  by 
the  French  on  the  Senegal.  We,  who  have  lived  for 
several  years  in  the  country,  however,  can  scarcely  be- 
lieve that  any  protection  would  be  needed,  except  good 
behavior.  All  our  supplies  and  cowries,  to  the  amount 
of  several  tons,  have  been  brought  into  the  interior  to 
us  by  native  carriers.  We  have  lived  in  unlocked 
houses,  and  have  traveled  far  and  wide  through  the 
country,  and  have  ever  felt  as  secure  in  our  persons 
and  property  as  if  at  home  in  America.  For  my  own 
part,  if  I  were  a  trader  on  the  Niger,  I  should  have  no 
fears  of  the  people. 

I  need  not  attempt  to  say  how  much  the  interests  of 
Central  African  commerce  might  be  favored  by  treaties 
with  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  the  country.    The  exten- 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA.  337 

sion  of  commerce  is  professedly  an  object  of  national 
importance  ;  and  there  is  probably  no  uncivilized  coun- 
try which  is  more  worthy  of  the  attention  of  governments, 
than  Sudan.  Why  should  it  be  too  much  to  hope  that 
our  own  government  may  explore  the  Niger,  and  estab- 
lish commercial  relations  with  the  adjacent  nations  ?  By 
this  measure,  another  wide  field  of  enterprize  would  be 
thrown  open  to  our  citizens.  The  influence  of  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity  would  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
twenty  or  thirty  millions  of  people,  who  are  now  pre- 
pared to  receive  them  ;  and  there  would  arise  a  neces- 
sity for  laborers  in  Sudan  which  would  put  a  natural  and 
effectual  stop  to  the  North  African  slave  trade,  and  to 
the  wars  by  which  it  is  supported.  Neither  is  it  too 
much  to  say  that  the  diffusion  of  civilization,  prosperity, 
and  happiness,  is  an  appropriate  work  of  Christian  gov- 
ernments. Philanthropy,  no  less  than  good  policy,  is 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  nations  ;  and  especially  when 
good  policy  and  philanthropy  are  inseparably  united,  we 
must  say  that  the  preservation  of  a  nation,  as  in  Turkey, 
or  the  creation  of  nations,  by  the  reciprocal  benefits  of 
commerce,  as  in  Sudan,  is  legitimately  a  national  work. 
In  our  own  nation,  raised  up  by  Providence  for  the  ex- 
position and  vindication  of  principles  which  are  destined 
to  govern  the  world,  such  a  work  would  be  particularly 
consistent.  When  we  look  back  upon  the  long  train  of 
heaven-directed  events  which  have  conducted  us  to  our 
present  position — the  ancient  civilization  of  Assyria  and 
Egypt,  its  transference  to  the  republics  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  its  victorious  conflicts  with  the  barbarous  tribes 
of  Central  and  Northern  Europe,  its  union  with  the  ele- 
ments of  true  liberty  in  England,  its  toils,  battles,  and 
15 


338 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


victories  in  the  name  of  the  living  God,  here  in  America, 
its  reflection  in  purer  form  upon  Europe,  its  late  expan- 
sion to  Africa,  its  constant  advances  to  higher  and  higher 
purity — when  we  contemplate  all  this,  who  could  be 
surprised  if  America,  the  exponent  of  civil  and  religious 
truth,  should  invade  the  dominions  of  sin  and  degrada- 
tion, in  new  and  surprising  ways,  with  results  never 
before  realized  or  even  expected  ? 

The  extension  of  civilized  commerce  to  Central  Africa, 
attended,  as  it  would  be,  by  the  pure  Gospel,  could  not 
fail  to  have  a  powerful  effect  on  the  minds  and  institu- 
tions of  the  people.  The  various  branches  of  business 
called  into  existence  by  commerce  would  require  educa- 
tion ;  and  the  people  would  be  anxious  to  obtain  it. 
Then  the  philanthropic  supporter  of  schools  could 
teach  the  youth  of  the  country,  without  standing  ex- 
posed to  the  charge  of  performing  the  absurd  labor  of 
cramming  their  minds  with  learning  for  which  they  have 
no  use,  and  consequently,  no  appreciation  of.  Soon, 
also,  as  now  in  Sierra  Leone,  the  natives  would  sustain 
their  own  schools,  esteeming  education  far  more  valua- 
ble than  the  time  and  money  expended  in  obtaining  it. 
As  a  consequence,  missionaries  would  no  longer  preach 
to  illiterate  barbarians  who  will  never  be  able  to  perpet- 
uate the  Gospel  among  them,  but  to  men  who  can  learn 
their  duty  by  reading  the  Bible,  and,  of  course,  would 
be  able  to  sustain  their  churches  and  pastors  from  gen- 
eration to  generation,  like  other  Bible-reading  people. 

Another  advantage  of  commerce  would  be  an  increase 
of  industry,  which,  in  all  climates  and  states  of  societ}% 
is  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  virtue.  No  people 
will  labor  merely  for  the  sake  of  toil.    The  Central 


MEANS  OP  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


339 


Africans  at  present,  produce  abundance  of  every  thing 
necessary  to  their  existence  as  barbarians,  but  there 
is  no  market  to  draw  off  surplus  produce,  if  it  existed, 
and  the  supply  is  very  naturally  limited  by  the  extent 
of  the  demand.  Under  these  circumstances,  an  increase 
of  industry,  and  consequently  of  virtue  and  of  civili- 
zation, is  impossible.  We  might  introduce  ploughs,  wag- 
ons, and  other  labor-saving  appliances  ;  but  without 
a  greater  demand  for  produce,  these  apparent  steps 
toward  civilization  would  be  a  curse  instead  of  a  bless- 
ing, because  every  hour  saved  from  labor  is  only  so 
much  added  to  idleness,  and  consequently  to  immorality 
and  degradation.  But  create  a  demand  for  all  that  they 
are  able  to  produce,  or  in  other  words,  give  them  com- 
merce with  the  civilized  world,  and  then  the  introduction 
of  plows,  wagons,  &c,  and  the  opening  of  roads,  would 
be  a  work  of  real  benevolence.  The  demands  of  the 
foreign  market  would  stimulate  industry  ;  the  supplies 
brought  into  the  country  by  foreign  traffic,  together  with 
education  and  the  Gospel,  would  create  new  wants  and 
new  aspirations,  which  would  naturally  and  inevitably 
lead  to  the  regeneration  of  society. 

No  matter  by  what  means  the  people  of  different 
countries  may  be  civilized,  the  principles  upon  which 
civilization  is  founded,  are  everywhere  the  same.  Thus 
far  in  the  history  of  man,  there  has  been  no  civilization 
which  has  not  been  cemented  and  sustained  in  existence 
bj  a  division  of  the  people  into  higher,  lower  and  mid- 
dle classes.  We  may  affirm,  indeed,  that  this  constant 
attendant  upon  human  society — gradation  of  classes — is 
indispensable  to  civilization,  in  any  form,  however  low 
or  high.    Take  our  own  country  and  social  state  as  an 


340 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


example.  The  highest  class,  which  with  all  its  various 
component  parts  is  a  unit,  consists  of  our  eminent  scien- 
tific men,  of  our  great  merchants  and  mechanics  (whose 
ships,  engines,  etc.,  are  at  once  the  substance  and 
the  expression  of  our  civilization,)  of  our  wealthy  cit- 
izens, and  political  leaders  and  rulers,  and  in  short 
of  all  who  are  truly  eminent  in  any  department.  The 
middle  class  is  composed  of  all  whose  attainments  in 
science,  art,  wealth,  etc.,  are  of  secondary  order  and 
importance,  though  some  of  this  class  approach  near  to 
the  maximum  or  first  class.  The  lowest  class  consists 
of  the  millions  whose  attainments,  though  not  con- 
temptible, are  neither  great  in  themselves  nor  control- 
ling in  their  individual  influence.  This  is  the  laboring 
class,  or  the  peasant  class,  which  always  has  existed 
and  ever  must  exist  in  the  very  highest  states  of  society, 
so  long  as  the  earth  and  man  retain  their  identity. 
Now  remove  the  highest  class  from  our  society,  and  the 
eminence  of  our  science,  art,  wealth,  and  skill  in  social 
or  political  problems,  would  be  gone.  Enlightened 
America  would  sink  down  to  a  state  of  bare  civiliza- 
tion. If  we  proceed  further,  and  remove  the  second 
class,  our  country  would  be  only  half  civilized,  without 
the  power  of  self-government  or  self-defence.  If  we 
still  proceed  to  remove  the  upper  strata  of  the  lowest 
class,  the  remainder  would  be  barbarism,  and  this 
brings  us  precisely  to  the  state  of  society  in  Central 
Africa.  In  those  nations  we  find  no  class  of  eminent 
men  whose  attainments  may  give  unity,  force  and  di- 
rection to  society  ;  no  middle  class  who  are  prepared 
by  their  attainments  to  receive  impulses  of  knowledge, 
wisdom  and  power  from  their  superiors,  and  communi- 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


341 


cate  it  to  the  millions  of  the  common  people.  With  the 
single  exception  of  political  chiefs,  themselves  barba- 
rians, the  whole  society  of  Sudan  rests  and  stagnates 
on  a  dead  level,  and  the  people  remain  poor,  ignorant, 
and  wretched,  because  they  have  no  superiors.  I  need 
not  say  that  a  second  and  a  third  higher  class  must  be 
added  before  we  can  regenerate  African  society  ;  but  I 
plead  for  commerce  in  Sudan  as  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful means  for  the  creation  of  that  wealth,  science,  and 
art,  which  are  indispensable  to  civilization. 

I  will  specify  yet  another  advantage  which  commerce 
would  bring  to  Sudan.  Much  as  the  people  trade,  they 
have  no  other  currency  than  the  cowry,  of  which  two 
thousand  shells,  weighing  from  five  to  seven  pounds,  are 
worth  only  one  dollar.  Since  the  recent  expansion  of 
traffic  in  that  country,  the  cowry  currency  is  already 
becoming  an  almost  intolerable  burden,  which  operates 
as  a  powerful  check  to  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 
Direct  trade  would  soon  necessitate  a  better  currency, 
and  this  would  give  impetus  to  a  new  branch  of  in- 
dustry, the  exploration  of  the  gold  mines  which  extend 
over  a  vast  tract  of  country,  west  of  the  Niger.  The 
present  merchants  on  the  Slave  Coast  might  easily  in- 
troduce specie  currency  in  the  purchase  of  palm  oil, 
and  this  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  people  ;  but 
self-interest  is  one  of  the  ruling  forces  of  the  world,  and 
it  seldom  hesitates  to  do  evil  or  to  prevent  good  for  its 
own  gratification.  So  long  as  the  merchants  can  sell 
several  ship-loads  of  cowries  a  year,  at  a  profit  of  fifty 
per  cent.,  they  will  not  agree  to  introduce  a  specie  cur- 
rency. But  direct  commerce  with  Sudan  would  soon 
outstrip  the  paltry  supplies  of  shells  from  the  Indies  and 


342 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Zanzibar,  and  after  lingering  for  a  few  generations  as 
the  medium  of  petty  traffic,  the  cowries  would  disap 
pear. 

A  very  little  acquaintance  with  Africa  is  sufficient  t ) 
convince  us  that  the  conversion  of  the  people  to  Christi- 
anity, involves  a  change  of  their  whole  social  existence. 
Polygamy,  interwoven  as  it  is  with  the  whole  fabric  of 
society,  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  with  which 
the  Gospel  has  to  contend.  Many  persons  perceive  the 
excellency  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  they  can  easily 
give  up  their  idols,  as  some  have  declared  ;  but  to  re- 
linquish their  wives,  the  number  of  whom  is  the  meas- 
ure of  their  respectability,  is  more  than  they  have 
strength  to  do.  The  general  extension  of  commerce 
would  erect  new  standards  of  respectability,  and  thus 
remove  one  of  the  strongest  props  of  polygamy.  An- 
other practical  reason  for  the  continuance  of  polygamy 
is  found  in  the  form  of  the  African  houses,  a  gloomy 
square  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  fifty  rooms,  one  or  two  of 
which  is  assigned  to  each  of  a  man's  wives.  Should 
these  be  dismissed  and  sent  away,  their  rooms  must  be 
given  up  to  the  rats  and  scorpions,  and  a  large  part  of 
the  great  polygamist  house  would  soon  go  to  ruin.  Be- 
sides this,  there  is  no  place  to  which  the  women  could 
go,  except  to  other  houses  of  the  same  form.  The  effects 
of  commerce  would  be  a  widening  and  straightening  of 
streets  for  the  passage  of  vehicles,  and  a  remodeling  of 
houses  to  suit  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  people. 
In  the  meantime,  the  abundance  of  employment  and 
better  wages  would  enable  all  the  poor  bachelors  to  take 
wives,  even  if  the  expenses  of  marriage  should  con- 
tinue m  at  present,  and  all  these  circumstances  would 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


343 


favor  the  efforts  of  missionaries  to  break  down  poly- 
gamy. Finally,  in  the  present  state  of  society,  every 
wife  is  a  free  dealer,  who  has  her  own  property  and  sup- 
ports her  own  children.  There  is  no  family  unity,  and 
little  desire  to  provide  for  children.  The  increase  of 
wealth,  knowledge,  refinement  of  feeling,  and  respect 
for  family,  which  would  result  from  commerce,  would 
operate  with  other  causes  to  revolutionize  the  present 
relations  of  husband  and  parents  and  children,  and  this 
would  remove  another  and  almost  the  last  support  of 
polygamy.  In  the  end  it  would  fall  of  itself,  and  the 
influence  of  the  Gospel  would  hasten  its  overthrow. 
This  is  only  one  case  of  many  in  which  commerce  would 
be  a  powerful  auxiliary  of  the  Gospel.  We  might  ex- 
tend our  remarks  to  the  government  and  all  the  social 
relations  of  the  people,  but  we  forbear  to  argue  further 
on  a  point  which  is  too  manifest  to  be  denied  or  under- 
valued. m 

We  may  remark  in  conclusion,  that  although  the 
Gospel,  science,  art,  commerce,  treaties,  and  all  the  in- 
fluences which  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  Africa  can 
not  regenerate  society  in  two  or  three  generations,  yet 
we  have  no  reason  to  be  discouraged  by  the  delay  of 
final  success.  No  great  moral  or  social  revolution  has 
ever  been  suddenly  brought  into  maturity.  There  is 
always  a  gradual  preparation  of  the  public  mind,  re- 
sulting from  a  gradual  development  of  public  necessity 
which  grows  broader  and  deeper  till  the  whole  soul  of 
the  community  is  strongly  imbued  with  some  prominent 
idea,  and  then  a  trivial  event  may  produce  a  sudden, 
perhaps  unexpected  out-burst  of  humanity,  in  which 
the  work  of  ages  appears  to  be  done  in  a  day.  We 


344 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


have  mentioned  the  long  and  gradual  preparation  of 
the  human  mind  for  the  success  of  the  Gospel  under  the 
apostles.  Our  own  great  revolution  was  not  begun  in 
1776.  It  was  working  strongly  when  the  sturdy  barons 
surrounded  King  John  and  extorted  the  Great  Charter 
of  England  and  the  world's  liberty.  It  brought  the 
chevaliers  of  the  South  and  the  pilgrims  of  New  Eng- 
land to  America.  It  was  struggling  in  France  long 
before  the  earthquake  of  the  French  revolution,  and 
still  unsatisfied  because  unsuccessful,  it  struggled  on 
in  Europe  till  its  next  premature  and  abortive  attempt 
in  1848.  Its  work  is  not  done.  In  America  it  succeeded 
more  fully  than  elsewhere,  because  as  a  work  of  provi- 
dence it  took  God  for  its  guide,  and  amounted,  in  fact, 
to  a  great  religious  revolution,  bursting  the  shackles  of 
state  and  setting  the  Church  free.  It  failed  in  Europe 
because  it  acted  prematurely  during  the  controlling 
prevalence  of  infidelity  and  Romanism,  which  tore  it 
away  from  dependence  on  God.  But  whether  in  Europe 
or  America,  it  is  still  preparing  for  a  future  crisis,  to 
which  all  preceding  events  were  only  preparatory  steps. 

It  has  not  struggled  and  grown  stronger,  and  shaken 
the  nations  for  so  many  centuries,  to  end  at  last  in 
failure.  Its  motions  are  as  irresistible  as  the  course  of 
the  planets,  and  its  triumph  is  as  certain  as  the  rising 
of  the  sun. 

The  extension  of  this  great  movement  to  Africa  oc- 
curred in  the  mad  irruption  of  the  Saracens  in  the  tenth 
century.  The  character  of  its  results  was  fixed  by  the 
slave  trade  ;  and  it  is  now  advancing  to  completion  in 
the  events  of  African  colonization,  African  missions  and 
African  commerce.    At  present,  its  effects  are  small, 


MEANS  OF  REGENERATING  AFRICA. 


345 


but  Guinea,  and  even  Sudan,  feel  its  approaching 
change.  The  missionaries  see  it,  and  have  expressed 
wonder  that  far  off  Nufe  and  Hausa  are  impressed  by 
the  mighty  and  mysterious  influence  which  is  moving 
the  whole  world.  Verily,  if  God  lives  in  the  history  of 
the  past,  he  lives  in  the  onward  events  of  the  present. 
As  time  advances,  and  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  and 
civilization  are  brought  more  and  more  to  bear  upon 
Africa,  the  effects  will  deepen  and  deepen,  till  at  last, 
in  some  critical  outburst  of  social  energy,  a  nation  will 
be  born  in  a  day. 


15* 


346 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 

THE  GREAT  COMMISSION — OUR  MISSIONS  TO  CENTRAL  AFRICA. —  MEN  NEED- 
ED—  WHO  SHOULD  GO  —  OUR  PROPOSED  LINE  OF  STATIONS  —  A  WAGON 
ROAD  TO  BE  OPENED  —  LOVE  TO  THE  SOULS  OF  MEN  A  MOTIVE — THE 
HEATHENS  NOT  SAVED  —  THE  APPOINTED  TIME  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF 
AFRICA  —  A  WIDE  FIELD  OF  LABOR  —  LIBERALITY  OF  THE  CHURCHES. 

In  this  concluding  chapter,  I  propose  to  state  some 
of  the  considerations  which  should  impel  us  to  send  a 
large  reinforcement  of  missionaries  to  Africa.  The  first 
one  is,  that  Africa  is  included  in  the  terms  of  the  great 
commission  which  Christ  gave  to  his  apostles — "All 
power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  have  commanded  you  ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Matt,  xxviii. 
18,  19,  20.  Or  as  Mark  records  it — "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Mark  xvi.  15,  16. 
This  commission  is  universal,  extending  to  all  the  world, 
and  to  every  nation  under  heaven,  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
Asiatics,  Europeans,  Americans  and  Africans.  It  is 
perpetual,  including  every  creature,  always  to  the  end 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


347 


of  the  world.  It  grants  no  permission  to  pass  by  any 
country,  because  the  people  are  barbarous,  but  it  makes 
us  "  a  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Barbarians, 
both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise."  Eom.  i.  14.  The 
wisdom  of  man  may  decide  that  the  barbarous  African 
tribes  are  incapable  of  receiving  Christianity.  The 
wisdom  of  God  decides  otherwise,  for  it  predicates  suc- 
cess on  omnipotence  :  all  power  is  given  to  Christ ;  go, 
therefore,  and  he  will  be  with  you  always,  in  all  coun- 
tries, and  in  all  states  of  society ;  sanctifying  means  to 
his  own  purposes,  working  supernaturally  by  his  Spirit, 
and  accomplishing  all  things  which  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  has  been  appointed  to  do. 

Although  it  is  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years 
since  the  commission  was  given,  it  is  not  yet  ten  years 
since  the  first  missionaries  were  sent  forth  to  Central 
Africa.  The  Mahometans  had  been  there  for  centuries, 
and  whole  nations  had  received  the  religion  of  the  false 
prophet,  but  the  Christian  stood  aloof,  and  the  name  of 
Christ  was,  and  yet  is,  unknown  to  the  millions  of  Sudan. 
But  now,  at  last,  the  Christians  of  England  and  America 
have  been  aroused  from  their  long  indifference,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  every  part  of  Central  Africa 
will  soon  hear  the  Gospel.  So  far  as  the  Baptists  of 
the  Southern  States  are  concerned,  we  have  made  a 
good  beginning.  The  first  attempt  to  establish  mis- 
sions in  Central  Africa,  and  the  first  exploration  of  in- 
terior countries  for  this  purpose,  was  committed  to  us 
by  the  Head  of  the  Church.  Our  first  station  was  foun- 
ded in  October,  1853,  at  Ijaye,  which  is  about  one  hun- 
dred  and  twenty  miles  from  Lagos,  on  the  sea  coast,  if 
we  travel  by  land,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  if  we 


348 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


ascend  the  Ogun  river  to  Abbeokuta.  In  1855,  we 
planted  a  second  station  at  Lagos,  and  a  third  at  Og- 
bomoshaw,  which  is  fifty  miles  further  interior  than 
Ijaye.  The  four  missionaries,  already  in  the  country, 
have  just  been  reinforced  by  three  others.  Another 
and  still  larger  reinforcement  is  needed  immediately. 
Not  only  private  individuals,  but  the  governors  of  cities 
and  provinces,  and  the  kings  of  countries,  have  repeat- 
edly asked  for  missionaries  to  come  and  live  with  them  ; 
and  we  have  been  obliged  to  inform  them  that  our  force 
is  not  yet  sufficient  to  grant  their  request.  When  the 
people  are  crying,  Come,  and  Christ  in  his  word,  is  say- 
ing Go,  we  must  not  and  dare  not  refuse. 

About  three  months  ago,  speaking  of  these  things  in 
a  public  address,  I  said  "  we  must  have  more  missiona- 
ries !  99  After  the  address,  a  brother  remarked  :  "  You 
say  we  must  have  missionaries  ;  but  what  if  God  has 
not  called  them?"  I  replied,  "  God  never  does  half- 
handed  work.  The  desire  of  the  people  to  hear  the  Gos- 
pel is  not  an  accident ;  this  is  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  If 
God  has  stirred  up  the  people  of  Africa  to  desire  mis- 
sionaries, He  has  doubtless  provided  the  men  who  will 
go  and  preach  to  them.  When  the  time  had  come  for 
Israel  to  crown  a  king,  he  was  not  to  be  found  ;  but  the 
old  prophet  declared,  1  He  hath  hid  himself  among  the 
stuff/  and  there  they  found  him.  Many  a  valuable  mis- 
sionary is  hid  among  the  '  stuff/  but  God  will  draw 
him  out."  We  shall  yet  see  that  some  who  now  are  lay- 
ing plans  for  earthly  greatness,  will  spend  their  days 
as  humble  and  successful  missionaries.  "  Seekest  thou 
great  things  for  thyself?  Seek  them  not."  (Jer.  xlv. 
5.)  The  time  has  come  to  do  great  things  for  God  ;  and 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


349 


if  He  has  touched  your  heart,  saying,  "  Son,  go  work  to- 
day in  my  vineyard,"  beware  how  you  refuse  Him  who 
speaketh  from  heaven.  What  will  it  matter  a  hundred 
years  from  to-day,  whether  you  have  risen  to  distinction 
among  your  countrymen  or  not  ?  for  then  you  and  they 
will  all  be  dead — some  in  heaven  and  some  in  hell,  and 
your  ambition  will  have  departed  like  the  dew  of  the 
morning.  And  what  would  you  answer,  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  if  Christ  should  ask  you,  "  Why  did  you 
stifle  your  convictions  and  refuse  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel ?  "  How  small  the  greatness  of  earth  will  then  ap- 
pear to  your  spirit  ! 

I  am  far  from  saying  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Christian  to  go  forth  as  a  missionary.  Neither  is  it 
the  duty  of  every  missionary  to  preach  in  Central  Af- 
rica. On  this  point,  as  on  all  others,  men  should  exer- 
cise sound  discretion.  If  a  man  desires  to  be  a  mission- 
ary, and  finds  the  way  open  before  him,  let  him  go.  If 
his  heart  glows  with  love  to  God  and  to  man,  and  he 
can  not  become  a  missionary,  let  him  induce  others  to 
go,  and  let  him  contribute  liberally  of  his  substance  to 
the  support  of  missions. 

Some  men  who  would  do  well  in  other  fields,  are  not 
adapted  to  Africa.  The  physical  and  mental  qualifica- 
tions of  a  good  African  missionary,  may  be  stated 
briefly,  as  follows  :  He  should  have  a  sound  and  vigor- 
ous body,  without  any  disposition  to  chronic  disease  ; 
an  active  temperament,  a  buoyancy  of  constitution, 
which  enables  him  to  recover  readily  from  sickness  ; 
and  finally,  he  should  be  lean  and  tough  of  fibre,  because 
fleshiness  and  softness  of  muscles  are  not  well  adapted 
to  a  hot  climate.    Although  a  classical  education  is  de- 


350 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


sirable,  it  is  by  no  means  indispensable.  But  no  man 
should  be  a  missionary  in  any  country,  unless  he  has  a 
large  share  of  practical  common  sense,  industrious 
habits,  a  good  knowledge  of  every  day  business,  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  and  considerable 
experience  inhuman  nature.  The  Scriptures  and  history 
should  be  the  constant  study  of  every  missionary,  be- 
cause by  this  means  he  will  become  more  and  more 
acquainted  with  the  nature  and  destiny  of  man,  and 
with  the  moral  and  social  forces  or  motives  which  gov- 
ern both  individuals  and  nations. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  I  have  repeatedly  noticed 
the  interesting  fact,  that  the  people  of  Sudan  are  more 
civilized  and  every  way  superior  to  those  on  the  west- 
ern coast.  Dr.  Livingston,  who  has  just  returned  to 
England,  from  a  long  exploring  tour,  reports  that  the 
same  is  true  on  the  south  of  the  equator,  and  that  the 
barbarous  tribes  will  not  permit  their  more  civilized 
neighbors  to  visit  the  coast  to  traffic  with  Europeans. 
The  heavily  wooded  countries  of  Western  Africa,  more- 
over, are  far  more  unhealthy  than  the  open  and  eleva- 
ted plains  of  the  interior.  These  circumstances  have 
materially  modified  our  plan  of  missionary  operations. 
We  propose  to  run  a  line  of  stations  from  Lagos  on  the 
coast,  directly  to  the  remote  interior,  and  there  to  spread 
abroad  our  operations  on  all  sides,  in  a  healthy  country, 
among  semi-civilized  people,  just  as  a  miner  runs  his 
shaft  directly  down  to  the  material  for  which  he  is  seek- 
ing, and  then  extends  his  explorations  on  every  side  of 
the  mine.  It  is  most  convenient  to  locate  our  stations 
at  distances  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles  apart,  so  that  mission- 
aries7 supplies,  and  our  mails,  may  conveniently  proceed 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


351 


from  one  to  another.  The  physical  characteristics  of 
Sudan,  as  distinguished  from  Guinea,  or  the  low  country, 
begin  a  short  distance  below  Abbeokuta,  but  are  not 
fully  developed  till  we  reach  a  point  a  few  miles  north 
of  Awyaw.  Our  line  of  stations  when  completed,  will 
probably  include  Lagos,  Abbeokuta,  Ijaye,  Awyaw,  and 
Ogbomoshaw.  Hence  we  may  properly  spread  abroad 
to  I  wo,  Idoko,  Ofa,  Ishakki,  Igboho,  Ikishi,  Kaiama,*  &c. 
But  still  we  propose  to  push  forward  to  Sokoto  and  Kano. 
We  have  no  doubts  as  to  the  willingness  of  the  people 
to  receive  us.  Nothing  is  wanting  but  men  and  money, 
and  both  of  these  God  has  given  to  our  churches  in 
abundance. 

We  can  generally  proceed  from  Lagos  to  Abbeokuta 
in  canoes,  with  less  expense  and  fatigue  than  by  land  ; 
and  this  is  a  happy  circumstance,  since  the  greater 
part  of  the  way  is  through  a  forest  country,  where  the 
opening  of  wagon  roads  would  be  very  expensive.  By 
straightening  the  road  from  Abbeokuta  to  Ijaye,  the 
distance  would  not  exceed  fifty  miles,  almost  wholly 
through  the  grass  fields,  where  the  trees  are  neither 
large  nor  numerous.  Thence  to  Ogbomoshaw,  by  the 
most  direct  route  through  Awyaw,  the  distance  would 
be  about  forty-five  miles,  thus  making  the  whole  road 
from  the  canoe  landing  below  Abbeokuta,  to  Ogbomo- 
shaw, about  one  hundred  miles.  We  propose  to  open 
this  road  and  to  introduce  vehicles  as  soon  as  possible 
This  step  would  be  attended  with  several  advantages. 
L  It  would  diminish  the  expense  of  transporting  our 
supplies,  which  are  now  carried  on  people's  heads  along 
narrow  and  crooked  paths.  2.  Riding  in  a  carriage 
would  very  much  diminish  the  fatigue  of  traveling,  and 


352 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


thus  might  save  the  lives  of  missionaries,  who  are  now- 
obliged  to  ride  through  the  sun  on  ponies.  3.  A 
road  would  give  the  people  better  facilities  of  trade 
with  the  coast,  which  would  stimulate  their  industry 
and  promote  their  civilization.  I  should  be  ashamed  to 
live  and  die  in  the  country  without  bursting  away  from 
the  shackles  of  barbarism  in  which  we,  in  common  with 
the  "people,  are  now  bound  in  this  roadless  country. 

But  the  opening  of  our  proposed  road  will  incur  ex- 
pense. The  natives  having  no  carriages,  and  seeing  no 
utility  in  a  road,  will  not  perform  the  labor  of  opening 
it  without  remuneration.  The  missionaries  have  com- 
menced raising  a  road  fund,  by  contributing  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  heads  of  cowries  each,  a  head  of  cowries 
being  nominally  one  dollar.  All  the  profits  of  the  pres- 
ent volume,  which  may  accrue  to  the  author,  have 
been  turned  over  to  the  same  fund.  There  will  still  be 
a  deficiency.  The  Foreign  Mission  Board  can  not  ap- 
propriate Mission  funds  to  open  roads,  but  we  hope  that 
liberal  friends,  of  enlarged  views,  will  not  permit  our 
road  to  fail  for  want  of  money.  Any  contribution  for- 
warded to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board,  at  Richmond, 
would  soon  reach  its  destination  in  Africa. 

Having  thus  urged  the  command  of  the  Saviour  to 
go  and  preach,  and  having  shown  what  we  are  attempt- 
ing to  do  for  Central  Africa,  I  proceed  to  say  that  love 
to  the  souls  of  men,  is  another  consideration  which  should 
induce  our  brethren  to  come  over  and  help  us.  I  will 
not  insist  on  the  pleasure  with  which  every  generous- 
hearted  man  contemplates  the  conversion  of  barbarous 
tribes  into  civilized  and  Christian  nations.  I  will  not  en- 
large on  the  millions  of  substantial  wealth  with  which 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


353 


Africa  will  annually  repay  her  civilizers  ;  but  I  will  look 
forward  to  the  final  home  of  the  sanctified,  into  which 
no  sin,  and  consequently  no  unpardoned  sinner,  can 
possibly  enter.  The  heathens  and  the  Mahometans  of 
Africa,  like  the  sinners  of  America,  have  no  hope  of 
heaven,  and  still  more  they  have  no  means  of  attaining 
that  faith  which  purifies  the  heart,  (Acts  xv.  9.)  "  Faith 
cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God," 
which  they  have  never  heard.  No  Christian  can  fail  to 
rejoice  when  he  hears  that  the  heathens  are  being  con- 
verted. No  Christian  would  declare  himself  unwilling 
to  do  every  thing  in  his  power  to  send  the  Gospel  into 
all  the  benighted  regions  of  the  earth  But  my  present 
remarks  are  addressed  principally  to  the  man  who  feels 
an  impulse  of  conscience  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Central 
Africa,  and  yet  stifles  his  convictions  in  consequence  of 
some  selfish  consideration.  It  is  very  unlike  the  spirit 
of  a  Christian,  to  prefer  our  own  bodily  and  earthly 
good  to  the  spiritual  and  eternal  good  of  our  fellow 
men.  Jesus  Christ  was  a  missionary,  for  the  Father 
sent  him  to  preach  and  to  establish  the  Gospel  on  earth. 
Though  richer  than  the  richest,  and  greater  than  the 
greatest,  he  became  poor  for  our  sakes,  and  submitted 
to  death  among  felons  on  the  cross,  that  we  might  hear 
the  Gospel.  The  servant  is  not  above  his  master,  nor 
the  disciple  above  his  Lord.  None  of  us  are  too  rich, 
or  too  honorable,  or  too  wise,  to  be  missionaries,  and 
woe  to  that  man  who  scorns  the  missionary  work  in 
consequence  of  exalted  opinions  of  himself.  Or,  if  at- 
tachment to  worldly  comfort  and  ease  deters  us,  how 
easily  God  can  turn  our  sweetest  pleasures  into  gall, 
and  strip  us  of  our  idols  !   After  all,  the  sacrifice  of  be- 


354 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


coming'  a  missionary  is  next  to  nothing",  if  the  heart  is 
full  of  love.  There  are  comforts  and  peace  and  joy  in 
Central  Africa,  also  ;  and  I  can  testify  that  the  greatest 
sacrifice  I  have  made  in  this  work,  was  leaving"  my 
field  of  labor  for  a  short  period  when  I  departed  for 
America.  More  than  all  this,  the  happiness  attendant 
on  the  missionary  work  is  an  overflowing  compensa- 
tion for  all  its  toils  and  troubles.  The  man  who  is 
hesitating  over  his  duty  to-day,  may  yet  be  the  happy 
instrument  of  conversion  to  persons  in  Sudan,  whose 
heads  are  already  hoary  with  age,  and  who  have  ap- 
proached thus  near  to  the  grave  without  hearing  of  a 
Saviour.  He  may  meet  with  men  in  the  judgment  who 
will  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed,  declaring  in  the  face 
of  an  assembled  world,  "  If  you  had  consulted  your  own 
ease  by  remaining  at  home,  we  had  never  heard  of  Je- 
sus our  Redeemer." 

If  a  man  should  decide  on  the  future  state  of  the 
heathen  according  to  the  impulses  of  his  natural  feel- 
ings, he  would  probably  say,  they  are  saved.  But  the 
natural  feelings  of  man  are  enmity  against  God  (Rom. 
viii.  7) — not  against  his  mercy;  but  precisely  against 
his  justice,  by  which  sinners  are  condemned.  The 
heathen  and  ourselves  are  lost  by  nature,  polluted,  un- 
fit for  the  society  of  heaven  ;  and  he  that  believeth  not 
will  be  condemned  in  the  last  day,  not  merely  for  re- 
jecting the  Saviour  of  whom  they  have  heard,  but  be- 
cause they  have  failed  to  hear  and  to  attain  that  faith 
by  which  we  may  be  justified.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  all  the  punishment  of  lost  souls  is  re  tribu- 
tive. Perdition  follows  from  pollution  as  a  natural  and 
inevitable  consequence.    Philosophers  have  told  us  that 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


355 


the  universe  is  governed  by  immutable  laws  ;  but  they 
have  not  generally  troubled  themselves  with  the  most 
important  of  these  laws — one  which  is  eternal  in  its 
existence  and  consequences,  viz.  :  That  sin  and  misery  • 
are  inseparable.  Angels  are  happy  because  they  are 
pure.  Devils  are  miserable  because  they  are  wicked  ; 
and  if  any  sinner  in  America  or  Africa  escapes  from 
this  sequential  misery,  he  must  first  be  purified  by 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ. 

The  Bible  teaches  that  the  heathen  are  lost.  *  They 
that  have  sinned  without  the  law  shall  also  perish  with- 
out the  law." — (Rom.  ii.  12.)  Paul  declares  that  the 
Ephesians,  before  their  conversion  through  faith  "  were 
children  of  wrath." — (Eph.  ii.  3  ;  cf.  verse  8.)  In  short, 
if  the  heathens  of  Africa  are  saved  without  the  Gospel 
we  might  be  saved  in  the  same  manner  ;  and  hence  it 
would  follow  that  men  are  not  "  saved  through  faith" — 
^Eph.  ii :  8,)  and  that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  not 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  I  will  not  pretend  to 
say  what  will  be  the  final  destiny  of  a  virtuous  heathen. 
Some  heathens  are  practically  better  than  others  ;  but 
if  any  of  them  are  pure  and  good  I  have  not  seen  them 
in  Africa.  It  is  affirmed  that  Socrates,  the  most  admired 
of  the  ancient  heathens,  was  guilty  of  crimes,  which  it 
would  be  a  shame  to  mention.  The  Saviour  declares 
that  "  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  and  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  Christians 
will  not  permit  them  to  rest  supinely  in  the  expectation 
that  the  heathen  will  be  saved  without  faith. 

As  a  third  consideration,  to  fill  Central  Africa  with 
missionaries,  I  will  glance  at  the  grand  scheme  of  prov- 
idence which  is  now  ripening  for  the  conversion  of 


356 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Africa  and  of  the  whole  world.  That  scheme  includes 
the  Gospel  and  civilization,  as  a  condition  of  its  power 
and  perpetuity.  Noah  and  his  sons  were  civilized  men, 
otherwise  they  had  never  built  a  ship  four  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  length,  and  strong  enough  to  ride  out  the 
storms  of  the  deluge.  While  the  tribes  of  mankind 
were  growing  more  and  more  barbarous  in  consequence 
of  their  dispersion  to  wide  and  thinly-peopled  countries, 
the  God  of  providence  preserved  and  developed  the 
ancient  civilization  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Nile.  At  the  proper  time  he  transferred  it  to  Greece 
and  Eome,  then  to  Middle  and  Northern  Europe,  and 
finally  to  America.  At  last  in  our  own  day,  he  is  con- 
verging its  rays  upon  the  African  continent. 

While  God  was  nourishing  civilization  as  a  blessing 
for  the  whole  earth,  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  and 
bringing  forward  the  infinitely  greater  blessing  of  the 
Gospel.  The  first  promise  of  a  Saviour  to  our  fallen 
race,  was  made  in  Eden,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall 
bruise  the  serpent's  head,"  and  that  seed  was  Jesus,  the 
Christ.  This  promise  was  afterwards  repeated  and 
more  fully  explained  to  Abraham,  to  Moses  and  to  the 
subsequent  prophets.  As  the  appointed  time  drew  near, 
the  extension  of  the  Greek  language,  the  enlargement 
of  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  wide  dispersion  of  the 
Jews  and  the  Jewish  scriptures,  prepared  the  way  for 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  When  the  great  Roman 
Apostacy  arose  as  a  natural  consequence  from  the  re- 
maining barbarism  of  the  nations — when  this  corrupt 
religion,  which  Gibbon  has  mistaken  for  the  Gospel, 
was  extending,  as  he  has  shown  with  needless  subtlety, 
by  the  inevitable  force  of  natural  circumstances,  then 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


357 


God  raised  up  a  succession  of  faithful  witnesses,  the 
Donatists,  Novatianists,  Paulicians  and  Waldenses,  who 
preserved  the  body  of  truth  for  a  future  resurrection. 
The  revival  of  letters,  of  commerce,  and  of  the  feeling 
of  personal  individuality  in  the  affairs  of  religion  and  of 
government,  resulted  in  Luther's  great  reformation, 
which  prepared  ,  the  way  for  one  still  greater  and  yet 
future.  The  revival  of  religion  under  Wesley  and 
Whitfield,  and  the  outburst  of  the  missionary  spirit  tin- 
der Carey  and  his  cotemporaries,  were  important  steps 
toward  the  consummation,  the  civilization  and  con. 
version  of  the  world.  Finally,  when  commerce  and 
civilization  are  drawing  Africa  into  their  embraces, 
Christianity  also  is  there  to  point  her  to  God,  her  Sov- 
ereign and  Redeemer.  With  or  without  missions, 
Africa  is  sure  to  be  civilized  before  the  passing  away  of 
many  generations,  for  the  forces  which  are  urging  her 
onward  have  never  yet  failed  in  the  case  of  any  nation 
to  which  they  have  extended,  and  they  cannot  fail  con- 
sistently with  their  own  nature. 

Since  commerce  and  civilization  are  such  powerful 
auxiliaries  of  the  Gospel,  now  is  the  very  time,  and  the 
first  time  since  the  foundation  of  the  world,  for  the 
herald  of  righteousness  to  claim  the  country  for  God,  in 
the  name  of  His  Son  and  the  Gospel.  If  we  are  remiss 
in  this  work,  others  will  not  be.  If  Protestants  do  not 
extend  the  dominion  of  Christ  over  the  continent, 
Romanists  will  extend  the  dominion  of  the  Pope,  and 
the  conversion  of  the  people  will  be  delayed  for  indefi- 
nite years.  I  call,  then,  on  every  man,  and  every  denom- 
ination, who  loves  the  truth,  to  direct  a  part  of  their  mis- 
sionary zeal  to  Central  Africa,  as  the  proper  place  for  the 


358 


CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


commencement  of  their  work.  I  would  not  have  any- 
other  African  mission  weakened,  but  Central  Africa  is 
large  enough  for  us  all,  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presbyte- 
rians, Episcopalians,  and  all  others  who  hold  the  pure 
doctrines  of  grace.  We  may  differ  at  present,  on  some 
points  of  importance,  but  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
brotherhood  are  common  to  us  all  ;  and  the  day  is  not 
very  distant  when  a  mutual  renunciation  of  all  hu- 
man errors  will  bind  us  into  one  body  somewhat  differ- 
ent from  any  of  our  present  organizations.  Now  is  the 
time  to  fight  with  sin,  and  not  with  one  another. 

So  soon  as  health  and  other  Providential  dispensa- 
tions will  permit,  I  expect  to  resume  my  labors  in  Africa, 
with  my  companion,  who,  if  possible,  is  more  ardent 
than  myself — a  woman  who  has  never  faltered  at  any 
difficulty,  or  uttered  a  word  of  complaint  against  any 
of  the  troubles  which  we  have  encountered  in  that 
country.  I  do  not  expect  to  return  alone.  Some  of  my 
brethren  will  transfer  their  hopes  of  glory  and  of  hap- 
piness to  a  better  and  surer  state  of  existence  than  this  ; 
and  they  will  be  missionaries,  some  in  Africa,  and  some 
in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Our  brethren  who  can  not 
go,  and  whose  duty  requires  them  to  remain  at  home, 
have  never  yet  refused  to  contribute  according  to  the 
wants  of  the  faithful  missionaries  in  the  field.  They 
never  will  refuse,  for  the  work  is  of  God.  We  ask  noth- 
ing but  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  and  I,  for  one,  have 
never  entertained  the  least  transient  fear  that  these 
will  not  be  supplied  by  the  liberalities  of  the  churches. 
The  number  of  Baptists  in  the  Southern  States  only,  are 
nearly,  or  quite  six  hundred  thousand.  Their  contribu- 
tions  at  present   average   five   or  six  cents  to  each 


AX  APPEAL  FOR  MISSIONARIES. 


359 


member,  and  this  has  been  sufficient  to  sustain  our  infant 
missions.  I  feel  the  utmost  confidence  that  our  contri- 
butions will  increase  with  the  increase  of  our  missions. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  only  a  few  weeks  since  I 
saw  anti-missionary  Baptists  contribute  publicly,  boldly, 
and  freely  to  the  Central  African  mission.  Here  is  an 
object  which  lays  hold  on  our  hearts.  The  people  to 
whom  we  are  sending  the  Gospel  are  negroes,  in  whose 
welfare  we  take  so  deep  an  interest  at  home.  The  mis- 
sionaries are  our  own  people,  brought  up,  as  it  were, 
by  our  own  firesides — whose  history  and  former  pros- 
pects in  life  we  know.  Their  wives  are  our  own 
daughters,  or  the  daughters  of  oul*  neighbors — the  grad- 
uates of  our  Female  Colleges  ;  reared,  as  the  world 
would  say,  in  the  lap  of  luxury  ;  who  have  everything 
earthly  to  lose,  and  nothing  to  gain,  by  becoming  mis. 
sionaries.  These  are  facts  which  tell  upon  our  feel- 
ings, and  we  must  and  will  have  a  part  in  this  great 
Gospel  work.  Fifty  cents  a  year,  for  each  of  our  mem- 
bers would  raise  a  Foreign  Mission  Fund  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  which  would  sustain  six  hundred 
missionaries,  at  our  rates  of  support.  Give  us  the  men, 
and  we  shall  find  the  money.  That  sum  is  nothing  for 
us.  We  give  ten  times  fifty  cents  a  year  for  coffee  or 
tobacco.  Give  us  twelve  hundred  missionaries,  and  we 
will  contribute  an  average  of  a  dollar  a  year  for  their 
support.  God  has  blessed  us  with  abundance,  and  to 
spare,  and  we  will  freely  give  for  the  conversion  of 

THE  WORLD. 


THE  END. 


NEW  BOOKS  AND  NEW  EDITIONS 


OF 


VALUABLE  WORKS, 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 


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No.  229  KING  STREET,  CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 


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"The  eagerly-expected  work  of  Mr.  Bo  wen,  forms  one  of  a  class  in  our  day 
Dr.  Kane's  Expedition  to  the  Polar  Kegions  is  not  more  marked  with  the  impress- 
of  our  age  than  this  of  Mr.  Bowen." — National  Intelligencer. 

BO  WEN'S  CENTRAL  AFRICA.    (Just  published.) 

Adventures    and   Missionary  Labors   in  several 

countries  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  from  1849  to 

1856,  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Bowen.    1  vol.  12mo,  359  pp.    With  an 

engraved  Map  of  Yoruba.    Price  $1,  on  the  receipt  of  which 

a  copy  will  be  mailed  free  of  postage. 

"The  new  volume  of  African  Travels,  by  T.  J.  Bowen,  (through  whose  instru- 
mentality a  bill  for  the  exploration  of  the  Eiver  Niger  was  introduced  to  Congress,) 
is  just  published  in  Charleston,  8.  C,  is  one  of  much  interest,  and  is  well  calculated 
to  increase  a  public  conviction  in  this  country,  not  only  of  the  practicability  of  es- 
tablishing commercial  relations  with  the  interior  tribes  of  Africa,  and  opening  the 
resources  of  that  comparatively  unknown  quarter  of  the  globe,  but  of  its  expedi 
ency.  Mr.  Bowen  has  familiarized  himself  with  his  subject,  by  extensive  explora- 
tions and  personal  observations ;  and  argues  strongly  in  favor  of  fostering  African 
commerce,  as  the  pioneer  of  civilization  and  social  advancement  in  that  dark  con- 
tinent.''— Journal  of  Commerce,  N.  Y. 

*  *  "It  gives  just  that  kind  of  information  which  most  persons,  wishing  to 
know  more  of  the  country,  would  desire  and  can  appreciate." — Southern  Presby- 
terian. 

"This  work  has  beguiled  us  out  of  the  sleep  of  nearly  a  whole  night.   "We  can 


2       Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications. 


give  no  better  evidence  of  its  interest  and  attractions.  It  opens  np  to  us  that 
hitherto  terra  incognita — the  interior  of  Africa.  ....  It  is  rare,  indeed,  that 
we  meet  with  a  book  more  beautifully  written  than  that  before  us.  We  can  not 
forbear  a  word  as  to  the  admirable  vein  of  common  sense  and  practical  wisdom 
running  through  all  our  author's  suggestions,  as  to  the  means  of  regenerating 
Africa.'" — Savannah  Georgian. 

"The  book  is  valuable.  It  will  be  sought  after  and  read  with  avidity.  The 
style  is  clear  and  forcible."—  True  Union. 

"  The  narrative  given  has  deeply  interested  us,  and  we  are  sure  that  none  can 
buy  and  read  it,  without  feeling  that  his  money  and  time  have  been  well  employed 
in  the  purchase  and  perusal.11 — Southern  Christian  Advocate. 

*  *  "It  is  probably  the  best  work  on  Africa  for  the  people  of  this  country, 
which  has  ever  been  published. 

"  No  doubt  the  book  will  receive  a  cordial  reception,  and  be  extensively  circu- 
lated.11— Christian  Chronicle,  Philadelphia. 

"  Mr.  Bowen  is  no  ordinary  man,  as  his  adventures  in  Africa  prove.  He  writes 
well,  and  condenses  well.  His  accounts  of  the  country,  its  inhabitants,  manners, 
customs,  laws  and  government,  religion  and  capabilities,  is  full  of  instruction.11 — 
Greenville  Mountaineer. 

"  The  book  is  fall  of  valuable  information  of  Liberia,  which  it  represents  as  a  star 
of  hope  for  Africa.  The  style  is  easy,  lively  and  flowing,  the  matter  full  of 
interest  to  the  Christian,  Naturalist  and  Merchant;  and,  altogether,  it  seems  to  us 
among  the  best  books  on  Africa  which  we  have  seen.11 — J\T.  Y.  Chronicle. 

"It  is  a  very  interesting  narrative.  He  has  seen  much,  and  has  been  a  careful 
observer  of  all  that  has  passed  under  his  notice.  His  facts  are  those  of  an  eye-wit- 
ness, and  his  conclusions  are  evidently  the  result  of  thoughtful  investigation." — 

Southern  Episcopalian,  April. 

"With  what  intense  interest  will  this  work  be  read  by  all  Christians,  and  especi- 
ally by  Southern  Christians  and  philanthropists,  to  whom  has  been  committed  the 
salvation  of  Ethiopia."' — Southern  Baptist  Review,  April. 

BAPTIST  PSALMODY'. 

33,300  copies  sold.  A  selection  of  Hymns  for  the 
worship  of  God.  By  Rev.  Basil  Manly,  D.D.,  and  Rev. 
Basil  Manly,  Jr.    18mo  and  32mo,  pp.  772. 

Pew  Edition,  18mo.  sheep,  $0  75 

"  18mo.  roan,   1  00 

M  18ino.  Turkey  mo.,  gilt  sides  and  edges,    .    2  50 

"  18mo.  Turkey,  with  clasp,       .       .       .    3  00 

18mo.  Velvet,  with  clasp,  .  .  5  00-  5  50 
Pocket  ed'n,  32mo.  sheep,  0  50 

32mo.  roan   0  75 

"  32mo.  tuck  and  gilt  edges,        .       .       .    1  25 

32mo.  Turkey  mo.  and  full  gilt,     .       .       1  50 

32mo.     "       "  "      with  clasp,     2  00 

"  32rno.  velvet,  with  clasp,      .       .       3  50-4  00 


Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications.  3 

THE  GRACE  OF  GOD  MAGNIFIED. 

An  Experimental  Tract.  By  H.  E.  Taliaferro,  junior 
editor  of  the  South- Western  Baptist,  Tuskegee,  Alabama.  With 
an  introductory  Essay,  by  Rev.  B.  Manly,  D.D.  18mo,  pp. 
125.  Price  30  cents.  Sent  by  mail,  on  receipt  of  retail  price, 
free  of  postage. 

It  is  in  the  mode  of  President  Edwards1  remarkable  account  of  his  own  conver- 
sion. It  goes  more  deeply  into  the  nature  and  operation  of  experimental  religion 
than  any  book  which  has  been  offered  to  the  public  in  a  long  time. 

Dr.  HOWELL'S  WORKS. 

The  Way  of  Salvation.    By  11.  B.  C.  Howell,  D.D. 
Fourth  edition.  12 mo,  pp.  336.    Price  75  cents.. 

THE  CROSS. 

By  Rev.  R.  B.  (X  Howell,  D.D.,  author  of  "  Way  of  Salva- 
tion," "  Evils  of  Infant  Baptism,"  etc.  Just  published.  16mo, 
pp.  248.    Price  50  cents. 

THE  COVENANTS. 

By  Robert  Botte  C.  Howell,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Main 
Street  (Second  Baptist)  Church,  Richmond,  Va.,  author  of 
"  Terms  of  Communion,"  "  The  Deaconship,"  "  The  Way  of 
Salvation,"  "The  Evils  of  Infant  Baptism,"  "The  Cross," 
etc.    12mo,  pp.  144.    Price  45  cents. 

EVILS  OF  INFANT  BAPTISM. 

By  Rev.  R.  Botte  C.  Howell,  D.D.    Fourth  Edition.  16mo. 
pp.  310.    Price  50  cents. 

A  DISCUSSION 

On  Methodist  Episcopacy,  between  Rev.  E.  J.  Hamill,  of 
the  Alabama  Conference,  and  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
South,  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  and  Rev.  Samuel  Henderson, 
pastor  of  the  Tuskegee  Baptist  Church,  and  editor  of  the  South- 
Western  Baptist.  Published  at  the  mutual  request  of  Baptists 
and  Methodists.    12mo,  pp.  400.    Price  $1. 

PROGRESS  OF  BAPTIST  PRINCIPLES 

In  the  last  hundred  years.  By  T.  F.  Curtis,  Professor 
of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Lewisburgh,  Penn.,  author 
of  "Communion/'  etc.  1  vol.  12mo,  cloth,  pp.422.  Price 
$1  25. 


4      Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications. 


THE  MIRROR; 

Or,  a  Delineation  of  Different  Classes  of  Christians. 

By  Rev.  J.  B.  Jeter,  with  an  Introduction  by  Rev.  A.  M. 
Poindexter.  1  vol.  12mo.  Second  edition,  pp.  246. 
Price  60  cents. 

Contents — 1,  Living  Christians  ;  2,  Growing  Christians ;  3,  Useful  Christians ;  4, 
Happy  Christians  ;  5,  Doubting  Christians ;  6,  Timid  Christians ;  7,  Indolent  Chris- 
tians: 8,  Inconstant  Christians;  9,  Fashionable  Christians;  10,  Frivolous  Chris- 
tians; 11,  Sensitive  Christians;  12,  Censorious  Christians;  13,  Obstinate  Christians; 
14,  Speculative  Christians ;  15,  Covetous  Christians ;  16,  Kum-drmking  Christians ; 
17,  Inconsistent  Christians. 

THE  CASKET; 

A  Collection  of  Church  Music,  comprising  selections 

from  the  celebrated  masters,  besides  a  large  amount  of  new 

music.    By  G.  O.  Robinson,  of  Charleston,  S.C.,  assisted  by 

J.  B.  Woodbury,  of  New  York.    1  vol.,  pp.  352.  Second 

edition.    Price  $8  per  doz. 

"We  gladly  commend  to  our  readers  the  new  book  of  sacred  music." 

u  It  is  destined  soon  to  be  the  favorite  of  the  choirs  and  churches  which  have  a 
proper  regard  for  this  branch  of  public  worship.  It  preserves  many  of  the  old 
favorite  tunes,  and  adds  to  them  very  many  new  and  brilliant  gems.  Besides  the 
tunes  for  the  usual  church  services,  it  contains  anthems,  chants,  sacred  songs, 
national  odes  and  a  delightful  variety  for  Sunday  schools,  and  social  and  revival 
meetings,  which  renders  it  at  once  comprehensive,  tasteful  and  convenient.  Nor 
are  these  attractions  at  all  diminished  in  typography,  which  is  remarkably  fine,  and 
what  is  particularly  worthy  of  notice  in  these  modern  days,  there  is  no  crowding 
of  the  different  parts  upon  the  same  staff.1' — Christian  Index. 

EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 

In  a  Systematic  and  Practical  Discussion  of  their 
external  department.  By  Rev.  J.  P.  Tustin,  Savannah, 
Ga.    1  vol.  16mo,  pp.  249.    Price  50  cents. 

THE  SACRED  LUTE, 

A  Collection  of  Popular  Hymns,  for  Social  and  Revival 
Meetings.  By  Rev.  E.  T.  Winkler.  1  vol.  32mo,  pp.  423. 
Price  37 J  cents. 

"  It  is  a  volume  of  hymns  and  sacred  songs,  intended  to  supply  a  demand  that 
exists  among  the  churches  of  the  South  and  West,  designed  to  aid  in  the  devotions 
of  social  and  revival  meetings;  and  is,  we  think,  well  suited  to  inspire  and  enliven 
Christian  piety  in  the  family  circle,  prayer  meetings,  Sabbath  schools,  revival  meet- 
ings, etc.  "We  hope  it  may  find  an  extensive  circulation,  as  it  well  deserves.'" — 
Western  Recorder. 

CHRISTIAN  PROGRESS. 

By  John  Angell  James.  A  republication  from  the  English 
edition.  1  vol.  18mo,  pp.  180.  Second  edition.  Price 
30  cents. 


Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications.  5 


SOUTHERN  SCENES  AND  SCENERY. 

By  a  Southern  Lady.    16mo,  cloth,  pp.  140.    Price  35  cents. 

This  book  may  be  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  highly  finished  productions 
that  have  been  issued  from  the  American  press.  There  is  a  gracefulness  in  its  style 
which  is  seldom  equalled.  A  delicate,  and  yet  a  strong  moral  lesson  is  inculcated 
in  each  of  its  stories,  which  is  calculated  to  insinuate  truth,  while  the  fancy  is  be- 
guiled. 

SERMONS. 

By  Rev.  J.  J.  Finch,  of  North  Carolina.    1  vol.,  12mo, 

pp.  314.    With  a  portrait  of  the  author,  and  memoir  of  hid 

life.    Price  75  cents. 

"  "We  are  persuaded  that  it  is  a  book  eminently  fitted,  especially  for  churches  and 
families  not  accustomed  to  have  worship  regularly  in  their  vicinity ;  and  if  the  real 
merits  of  these  sermons  were  known,  there  would  be  a  large  demand  for  them. 
That  our  readers  may  have  some  idea  of  the  range  of  topics,  we  here  annex  a  list 
of  the  twenty-four  sermons.  The  Worth  of  the  Soul.  Value  of  Eeligion.  Busi- 
ness of  the  Gospel  Ministry.  Office  of  a  Bishop.  The  Pastor's  Conflicts.  Wrong 
State  of  the  Heart.  Perversity  of  the  Will.  Obdurate  Impenitence.  Ashamed  of 
Christ.  Importance  of  Confessing  Christ.  Terms  of  Discipleship.  Christian 
Ordinances.  Moral  Effects  of  Baptism.  Living  for  Christ.  Christian  Faithful- 
ness. Love  in  Eeligion,  Confession  of  Faults.  Eeligious  Weapons.  Duties  and 
Dangers  in  relation  to  Civil  Affairs.  Sabbath  School  Lecture.  Counsels  to  the 
Young.  Counsels  to  the  Aged.  Benefit  of  Sorrow.  The  Saint's  Rest." — Southern 
Baptist. 

DUTIES  OF  CHURCHES  TO  THEIR  PASTORS. 

By  Rev.  Franklin  Wilson,  of  Baltimore.    Third  edition.  1 
vol.  18mo,  pp.  108.    Price  25  cents. 

DUTIES  OF  PASTORS  TO  THEIR  CHURCHES. 

By  Rev.  T.  G.  Jones,  Norfolk,  Va.    Second  edition.    1  vol. 
18mo,  pp.  104.    Price  25  cents. 

PREDESTINATION  AND  THE  SAINTS'  PERSE- 
VERANCE. 

By  Prof.  P.  H.  Mell.    Second  Edition.     18mo,  pp.  92. 
Price  12 \  cents. 

DUTIES   OF  MASTERS   TO    SERVANTS.  Three 
Prize  Essays. 

By  Rev.  H.  N.  McTyeire,  Rev.  C.  F.  Sturgis,  and  Rev. 

A.  T.  Holmes.  1  vol.  16mo,  pp.  252.    Price,  35  cents. 

These  Essays,  it  is  believed,  will  supply  a  want  which  has  been  long  and  widely 
felt  throughout  the  South.  They  are  written  by  three  clergymen,  one  of  them  a 
Methodist,  the  others  Baptists ;  and  were  called  forth  by  the  olfer  of  a  prize,  by  the 
Alabama  Baptist  State  Covention,  for  the  best  Essay  on  this  subject.  The  volume 
has  been  widely  circulated,  and  meets  with  general  favor  with  all  denominations 
of  Christians. 


6       Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications. 

SIMPLE    RHYMES  IIT  FAMILIAR  CONVERSA- 
TIONS FOR  CHILDREN. 

By  Rev.  C.  D.  Mallary,  D.D.,  1  vol.  16mo.   Price  25  cents. 

A  BAPTIST  CHURCH  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  HOME. 

By  Robert  T.  Middleditch,  author  of  "  Pedobaptist  Church 

no  Home  for  a  Baptist."    Third  Edition.    1  vol.  18mo, 

pp.  178.    Price  35  cents. 

This  work,  formerly  issued  by  the  Society  as  a  paper-covered  pamphlet,  is  con- 
siderably enlarged  and  improved,  and  now  appears  as  a  handsome  bound  volume. 
The  success  of  this  book  is  to  be  found  largely  in  the  calm  and  tender  spirit  which 
pervades  a  discussion  ordinarily  supposed  to  require  great  strictness  and  firmness 
in  maintaining  the  positions  of  a  religious  controversy.   It  is  a  model  in  its  way. 

MEMOIR  OF  REV.  B.  M.  SANDERS ; 

Or,  Living  and  Dying  to  the  Lord.    By  Rev.  C.  D. 

Mallary,  D.D.    Just  Published.    With  a  portrait. 
BAPTISM  AND  TERMS  OF  COMMUNION. 

By  Rev.  Kichard  Fuller,  D.D.    Fourth  edition.    1  vol., 
16mo,  pp.  2^2.    Price  50  cents. 

SOCIAL  VISITS; 

Or,  a  few  Chestnuts  for  the  Children,  and  a  Dinner 
for  the  Old  Folks.  By  Uncle  Charles,  author  of 
"  Simple  Rhymes."  1  vol.  18mo,  pp.  229.  Price 40  cents. 

TRACTS  ON  IMPORTANT  SUBJECTS. 

1  vol.,  18mo,  pp.  330.    Price  40  cents. 

1.  The  Bible.    By  Rev.  J.  L.  Dagg,  D.D. 

2.  Human  Depravity.    By  Rev.  J.  R.  Kendrick. 

3.  Justification.    By  Rev.  J.  B.  Jeter,  D.D. 

4.  Sanctification.    By  Rev.  C.  D.  Mallary,  D.D. 

5.  The  World's  Revolution.  By  Rev.  R.  T.  Middleditch. 

6.  The  Spirit  of  Missions.    By  Rev.  E.  T.  Winkler. 

7.  Sabbath  Schools.    By  Rev.  C.  D.  Mallary,  D.D. 

8.  Infant  Baptism.    Rev.  J.  L.  Dagg,  D.D. 

9.  Charges  against  Baptists.    By  Rev.  J.  B.  Jeter,  D.D. 

"  The  Bible,  Human  Depravity,  Justification,  Sanctification,  the  "World's  Eevo- 
lution,  the  Spirit  of  Missions,  Sabbath  Schools,  Infant  Baptism,  and  Charges 
against  Baptists,  are  the  subjects  discussed  in  this  volume  by  the  most  distinguished 
pens  in  the  South.  The  topics  are  important  ones,  and  treated  with  great  ability, 
and  in  a  highly  Christian  spirit.  The  book  is  worthy  of  a  wide  circulation." — 
Christian  Chronicle. 

This  series  has  received  a  very  general  and  decided  commendation  from  the 
religious  press. 


Southern  Bap.  Pub.  Society's  Publications.  7 

BAPTISM  IN  ITS  MODE  AND  SUBJECTS. 

By  Professor  P.  H.  Mell,  Mercer  University,  Georgia.  Sec- 
ond edition.    1  vol.  16mo,  pp.  300.    Price  50  cents. 

HOW  FAR  MAY"  A   CHRISTIAN  INDULGE  IN 
POPULAR  AMUSEMENTS  ? 

By  Rev.  F.  Wilson,  of  Baltimore.    1  vol.    18mo,  paper 
covers,  pp.  70.    Price  10  cents. 

RESTRICTED  COMMUNION, 

Or  Baptism  an  Essential  Pre  -  Requisite  to  the 
Lord's  Supper.  By  Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor.  Fifth  edition,  re- 
vised and  enlarged,  1  vol.  18mo,  cloth,  pp.  99.  Price  25 
cents. 

TALES  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

First  Series.  The  Pious  Mother,  and  her  Dutiful  Daughter  ; 
or,  The  Lives  of  Emily  Ross,  and  Ellen  Merwin.  By  the 
author  of  the  "  Lost  Found,"  and  "Clara  C.'J  &c.  35 
cents. 

POETRY  AND  PROSE  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

The  First  and  Last  Oath  ;  with  other  Stories.    By  Caroline 
Howard.    30  cents. 


Books  of  other  Publishers  furnished  at  a  very  liberal  dis- 
count, at  wholesale. 

Several  new  and  valuable  Works  are  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion, and  will  be  added  to  the  above  list,  during  the  year. 


